Nonfiction author Jonathan Maxwell

The last time Jonathan Maxwell was on the show, we had a fascinating time. This time, he'll be bringing even more interesting trivia with an excerpt from his latest book, Piltdown Man and Other Hoaxes. Who says learning can't be fun.

Please join us tonight!

Piltdown Man and Other Hoaxes: A Book about Lies, Legends, and the Search for the Missing Link

Around the turn of the century, mysterious bones are found on a work site in otherwise sleepy Piltdown, England. They look very old, perhaps prehistoric. The bones clearly belong to a primate, but what kind? Some of them look extremely primitive, while others appear to be those of a modern human being. Despite the paradoxes, British scientists hail the specimen as the first man. Thus, humankind originated in Europe, and not in Africa, as Charles Darwin believed. However, things are not quite what they seem, and Western scientists would endure a scandal that would almost destroy anthropology and the theory of evolution. Piltdown Man and Other Hoaxes examines this disastrous fraud in depth, and explores other scientific scandals as well, such as those in regards to Bigfoot, the Yeti, lake monsters, and mermaids.