If you love those urban legends, crazy rumors and National Enquirer stories about giant mutant kittens and meat that grows on trees, then you will love Hippo Eats Dwarf, a hilarious guide to all the B.S. stories we’ve been bombarded with over the decades…and wondered if they were really, truly true. “Hoaxpert” Alex Boese, who is the author of The Museum of Hoaxes and curator of the online www.museumofhoaxes.com, once again puts together a mind-boggling collection of rumors and hoaxes and myths that is as entertaining as it is educational.

This lively field guide covers everything from male pregnancies (I wish!) to fake and phony photographic images taken after disasters to amateur publicity stunts and The Tapeworm Diet (you know you tried it!). Each chapter covers a different topic, such as Technology, Romance, E-mail, Food, Advertising, the News, and examines all kinds of fraudulent claims, crazy rumors and silly stunts that many of us have fallen for at one time or another. Oh, come on, you did too believe one day you could buy a tooth phone. And I know you fell for the one about Microsoft buying out the Catholic Church.

This is the kind of book you will refer to again and again, wanting to share all the silly trivia with friends who are far more gullible than you ever were. Boese uses plenty of photographs, reality rules, case files and images to make this one lively read. But the B.S. itself takes center stage, and you will shake your head in amazement at the kind of stuff people have fallen for over the years…and will continue to fall for, meaning that Boese can get started on the second edition right away. Because when it comes to hoaxes, all you need is one fool on the receiving end…and we certainly live in a world with no shortage of fools. Just look in the White House, for starters.