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Hitler Diaries -

It was one of the most sensational literary scoops of the 20th century: 62 volumes of Adolf Hitler's journal entries from 1932 to 1945 had been unearthed and purchased in April 1983 by the West German news magazine Stern. Serialization rights were then sold to several other publications, including Britain's Sunday Times. But within two weeks, the diaries were exposed as complete fakes, forged by Konrad Kajau (pictured).

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Hitler Diaries -

Kajau, a con artist and petty thief, had managed to hoodwink gullible journalists and respected historians, so eager were they to publish or be associated with the find of a lifetime. Kajau and his contact at Stern, Gerd Heidemann, were subsequently jailed for fraud. Konrad Kajau died in 2000.

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'Lady Chatterley's Lover' -

Written by English novelist D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930, pictured) and first published privately in Italy in 1928, 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' became the subject of considerable controversy in the 1960s when Penguin Books sought to publish it in Great Britain.

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'Lady Chatterley's Lover' -

The novel, which describes in explicit detail the physical and emotional relationship between a woman of high standing and her working-class game keeper, was considered obscene and too shocking by the British establishment at the time. The publishers were subsequently charged with obscenity, but after a six-day trial at London's Old Bailey the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty." The novel was published a month later and all 200,000 copies were sold on the first day.

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The "autobiography" of Howard Hughes -

In 1970, American novelist and investigative reporter Clifford Irving (1930–2017) developed an audacious plan to write and publish the "autobiography" of billionaire recluse Howard Hughes. In doing so, he created one of the all-time literary hoaxes.

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The "autobiography" of Howard Hughes -

Irving collaborated with friend and author Richard Suskind (1925–1999, pictured left) to produce the book, and forged letters and documents purportedly in Hughes' hand to fool potential publishers. The ruse was uncovered when the reclusive business magnate uncharacteristically emerged to condemn the work as a fabrication. Irving was later jailed for the scam. 'The Hoax' (2006) recounts the elaborate con and stars Richard Gere as Irving.

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'The Frost King' -

Helen Keller (1880–1968) lost both her sight and hearing at just 19 months old. Amazingly, she grew up to become a prolific author, disability rights advocate, and political activist. Her writing skills emerged at an early age. When she was 11, she penned a short story called 'The Frost King.' But her imagination, it seems, belonged to somebody else.

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'The Frost King' -

Shortly after 'The Frost King' was published, comparisons were made with an earlier story called the 'Frost Fairies,' written by a Margaret T. Canby. Keller acknowledged the similarities between both works, and surmised that she must have had the 'Frost Fairies' read to her as child and subconsciously drew on some of its themes while writing 'The Frost King.' Keller later accused herself of plagiarism in her 1903 memoir, 'The Story of My Life.'

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'In Cold Blood' -

The 1959 Clutter family murders shocked America. Two men, ex-convicts Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, were found guilty of the brutal slayings and sentenced to death. The case caught the attention of novelist Truman Capote, who decided to write a book about the murders. He visited both men in jail, and was particularly drawn to Perry Smith, with whom he forged a close bond... too close, it seemed.

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'In Cold Blood' -

Capote got to know Smith intimately while researching what would become 'In Cold Blood,' his 1966 novel detailing the events of 1959. In fact, it's been argued that the author fell in love with the killer. Capote was certainly devastated when Smith, along with Hickcock, was eventually hanged for his crimes, and the novelist's health deteriorated noticeably soon afterwards. Pictured is Hickock (left) with Smith.

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The "Book Bandit" -

Iowa resident Stephen Blumberg is infamous as the "Book Bandit," so named after being arrested in 1990 and accused of stealing more than 20,000 rare books and 10,000 manuscripts valued at around US$20 million, pilfered from dozens of university libraries across the United States and Canada. Among this literary loot was an edition of the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle (pictured).

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The "Book Bandit" -

Also found among Blumberg's book booty was a super scarce first edition copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle T om's Cabin' (pictured), published in 1852. A self-confessed bibliomane, Blumberg was found guilty as charged in 1991 and served nearly five years in prison.

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'The New Republic' -

Stephen Glass once worked as a journalist for The New Republic magazine and was certainly going places, becoming spectacularly successful in a short space of time. But it was all a scam. In 1998, Glass was uncovered as having fabricated most of his published articles, which either contained false information or were entirely fictional. The scandal nearly destroyed the magazine.

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'The New Republic' -

Fired, Glass reinvented himself, somewhat ironically, as a lawyer. His downfall is dramatized in the movie 'Shattered Glass' (2003). Pictured is Hayden Christensen (right), who portrays Glass, and Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Charles Lane, the magazine's editor.

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'A Million Little Pieces' -

Writer James Frey was on a roll after his 2003 memoir, 'A Million Little Pieces,' was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and interviewed by her for the show's television book club slot. Three years later he was invited back, but this time for very different reasons.

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'A Million Little Pieces' -

In 2006, it was discovered that events in his memoir, which highlighted the author's struggle with substance abuse and how he coped with rehabilitation, were largely fabricated. Oprah, together with the general public, felt betrayed, and she had it out with Frey big time.

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'Three Cups of Tea' -

Greg Mortenson, seen here with children in Pakistan, is the co-author of 'Three Cups of Tea.' Published in 2006, the book describes Mortenson's work as a humanitarian committed to reducing poverty and elevating education for kids in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A follow-up book, 'Stones into Schools,' which follows Mortenson's efforts to build schools for those same children, was published in 2009. Both were met with acclaim. In time, however, doubts began to surface into the voracity of Mortenson's story.

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'Three Cups of Tea' -

An investigation from '60 Minutes' and writer Jon Krakauer found that Mortenson had fabricated parts of his story. Many of the schools mentioned in the text either didn't exist, or had not enjoyed the benefit of funds supposedly raised by Mortenson's non-profit charity organization, Central Asia Institute. And in a final twist, 'Three Cups of Tea' co-author David Oliver Relin killed himself in 2012 after basic facts in the book were called into question, though Relin himself was widely considered innocent of the alleged misinformation contained within the book.

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'Go Set a Watchman' -

Harper Lee is best known for her 1960 novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' regarded as a classic of modern American literature. She penned nothing else until 2015, when to the surprise of everybody 'Go Set a Watchman' was published. A new novel? Not quite.

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'Go Set a Watchman' -

It soon became apparent that 'Go Set a Watchman' was a remarkably similar read to her 1960 triumph. In fact, the author's "alleged long-lost manuscript" was essentially a first draft of 'To Kill a Mockingbird." Lee herself was in ill health when the scandal broke, and it's suggested that the author's lawyer, Tonja Carter, manipulated her client into publishing the manuscript for financial gain.

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'Dangerous' -

British far-right author and political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos had to self-publish his book 'Dangerous' after his publisher, Simon & Schuster, dropped Yiannopoulos' memoir, for which they'd originally paid a six-figure advance. But why?

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'Dangerous' -

Yiannopoulos, a former editor for Breitbart News, a far-right media organization, was under fire after a podcast emerged in which he seemed to condone sex between men and boys.  He resigned from Breitbart shortly afterwards.

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Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize speech -

Few people really believe Bob Dylan deserved to win the Noble Prize for Literature 2016, not least Dylan himself. Days went by before the singer acknowledged the accolade, and then he refused to attend the prize-giving ceremony. But before any winner can receive the 8m kroner (US$900,000) that goes with the prize, they must first deliver a lecture. So, what did Dylan do?

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Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize speech -

Dylan opted not to deliver the lecture in person, but did send the Swedish Academy an audio link in which he reads it out aloud. But that's when discord set in. The singer was accused of plagiarizing his Nobel Prize speech from the SparkNotes summary for 'Moby-D ick; or, The Whale,' published in 1851 by Herman Melville (1819-1891, pictured).

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'Spycatcher' -

'Spycatcher' whipped up a storm of controversy when it was published in 1987. Written by former MI5 officer Peter Wright (1916–1995) and co-authored by Paul Greengrass (better known these days as a top Hollywood film director), 'Spycatcher' was initially banned from English bookshelves by a jittery Thatcher government worried about the book's explosive content, which included allegations about British Intelligence "dirty tricks."

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'Spycatcher' -

'Spycatcher' had already been published in Australia, and had not been banned in Scotland. The book's suppression only served to generate more publicity, and after a trial in which it was cleared for UK publication by the Law Lords, Wright's memoir became a best seller. Indeed, the former spy died a millionaire from the proceeds.

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Nazi book burnings -

On May 10, 1933, Nazi-dominated student groups carried out public burnings of books they claimed were "un-German" in an unprecedented display of literary vandalism. The burnings took place in 34 university towns and cities across Germany.

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Nazi book burnings -

Works of prominent Jewish, liberal, and leftist writers ended up in the bonfires, with those of Karl Marx and Bertolt Brecht among the first to be tossed into the flames. The burnings were a symbolic act of ominous significance, and exemplified the reasons why totalitarian regimes often target culture, particularly literature. Pictured are students collecting books for destruction on Berlin's Opernplatz.

Sources: (Deutsche Welle) (British Library) (VOA) (Biography) (Bedcloud) (Conservation OnLine) (The New Republic) (The Daily Beast) (Slate) (The Guardian) (USA Today) (The Nobel Prize) (The Christian Science Monitor) (Holocaust Encyclopedia)

See also: 30 books that influenced the world

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