The hoax is a peculiarly American phenomenon, posits Kevin Young, who adds that fakery is woven from stereotype, with race being a significant factor. Young then turns to the hoaxing of history and the ways that forgers, plagiarists, and frauds invent backstories and falsehoods, from the pretend Native Americans Grey Owl and Nasdijj to the African American man that P.T. Barnum professed was a newly discovered missing link in evolution. Focusing on the 21st century, Young asks what it means to live in a post-factual world of "truthiness" where everything is up for interpretation and everyone is subject to a contagious cynicism that damages our ideas of reality, fact, and art.