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Title: Pranksters: Making Mischief in the Modern World
Author: Kembrew McLeod
Narrator: Gary Roelofs
Format: Unabridged
Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-20-17
Publisher: NYU Press
Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences
Publisher's Summary:
From Benjamin Franklin's newspaper hoax that faked the death of his rival to Abbie Hoffman's attempt to levitate the Pentagon - pranksters, hoaxers, and con artists have caused confusion, disorder, and laughter in Western society for centuries. Profiling the most notorious mischief-makers from the 1600s to the present day, Pranksters explores how "pranks" are part of a long tradition of speaking truth to power and social critique.
Invoking such historical and contemporary figures as P.T. Barnum, Jonathan Swift, WITCH, The Yes Men, and Stephen Colbert, Kembrew McLeod shows how staged spectacles that balance the serious and humorous can spark important public conversations. In some instances, tricksters have incited social change (and unfortunate prank blowback) by manipulating various forms of media, from newspapers to YouTube. For example, in the 1960s, self-proclaimed "professional hoaxer" Alan Abel lampooned America's hypocritical sexual mores by using conservative rhetoric to fool the news media into covering a satirical organization that advocated clothing naked animals. In the 1990s, Sub Pop Records then-receptionist Megan Jasper satirized the commodification of alternative music culture by pranking The New York Times into reporting on her fake lexicon of "grunge speak." Throughout this book, McLeod shows how pranks interrupt the daily flow of approved information and news, using humor to underscore larger, pointed truths.
Written in an accessible, story-driven style, Pranksters reveals how mischief makers have left their shocking, entertaining, and educational mark on modern political and social life.
Members Reviews:
great information, needed a great editor.
Loved the amount of information presented in this book. Particularly liked the deep dive into historic satire and it's role in today's conspiracy theories. Unfortunately it cheeky like it could use a good editor, it came across as a stream of consciousness written down. But I still really enjoyed it.
Love it: For fans of secret history books like the masterpiece Lipstick Traces
Really great background on a lot of extremely cool subversive culture obfuscation through the ages. Could even use a sequel, and he would be the author to do it. Bravo!
A different lens on history
I enjoyed reading these little known tales of pranksters, hoaxes, conspiracy theories, etc. throughout history. It is an educational and engaging read.
Slow to get started.
I found the book a tough slog at first, it seemed very disorganized and I almost didn't pick it up again. But after it got past the 18th century things improved and became more interesting. It is very political. I bought the book because I am interested in the subject matter, but I was disappointed to find very little mention of con artists. He does say right in his intro that he has a very narrow definition of prankster as his subject, and he doesn't deal much with those who conned others for profit. Also I don't understand how a book of this scope could ignore some of the most recent and notable hoaxes of the Internet age. Balloon boy or the Bigfoot guys or even guerrilla marketing oddities like Aqua Teen Hunger Force causing a bomb scare in Boston.
