Novelist Clifford Irving's "autobiography" of Howard Hughes was the literary hoax of our time. This no-holds-barred confession by the author was first published in Great Britain in 1977, where it became a best-seller. But no American hardcover house would touch it until now. Why? The answer is implicit in this ultimate caper story of daring, treachery, and corruption.

As fast-paced and exciting as any spy novel, The Hoax involves the reader at every devilish turn. Irving describes how the hoax developed, like a Chinese puzzle, from its madcap beginning to the final startling confession, a witty and nail-biting story of international intrigue and beautiful women, of powerful corporate executives and jet-set rogues, of cover-ups and headlines.