How many people take themselves seriously enough, or think they are important or interesting enough, to write a memoir? (An autobiography is a full account of the author's life while a memoir presents just a slice of it. EG: "How I Climbed Mr. Everest" or "My Role in the Brinks Robbery," or "How I lost 600 Pounds Eating Donuts and Snicker Bars.") Judging from bookstore inventories, a lot of people. One would be hard pressed to name a well-known politician, entertainment figure, television host, professional athelete or writer who has not written (or had ghost-written) a memoir.
Because so many memoirs are ghost-written, especially books "authored" by celebrities, the term "author," in the context of this genre, is rather ambiguous. Moreover, when reading a memoir, one can never be sure if the book in hand is fiction, nonfiction, or a blend of fact and fantasy. In recent years several best-selling memoirs have turned out to be, at their core, fiction, and therefore fakes. Examples include memoirs written about the holocaust, crime, addiction, sports, and coming of age. Since 1996, three major holocaust memoirs have been shown to be heavily fictitious.
Greg Mortenson's 1996 memoir (co-authored with David Oliver Relinhis), called "Three Cups of Tea," a supposedly true story of how Mortenson's non-profit institute established more than 170 schools for girls in Pakistan, sold more than three million copies worldwide. In April 2011, CBS's "60-Minutes" reported that the memoir was a fabrication and that Mortenson had used his charitable organization as a "private ATM machine."
Many fake memoirists want the freedom to create and take advantage of the power of nonfiction. Readers like true stories, but not all true stories are interesting. This is where fiction--and literary fraud--enters the picture, and why so many book buyers now question the integrity of the genre.
Because so many memoirs are ghost-written, especially books "authored" by celebrities, the term "author," in the context of this genre, is rather ambiguous. Moreover, when reading a memoir, one can never be sure if the book in hand is fiction, nonfiction, or a blend of fact and fantasy. In recent years several best-selling memoirs have turned out to be, at their core, fiction, and therefore fakes. Examples include memoirs written about the holocaust, crime, addiction, sports, and coming of age. Since 1996, three major holocaust memoirs have been shown to be heavily fictitious.
Greg Mortenson's 1996 memoir (co-authored with David Oliver Relinhis), called "Three Cups of Tea," a supposedly true story of how Mortenson's non-profit institute established more than 170 schools for girls in Pakistan, sold more than three million copies worldwide. In April 2011, CBS's "60-Minutes" reported that the memoir was a fabrication and that Mortenson had used his charitable organization as a "private ATM machine."
Many fake memoirists want the freedom to create and take advantage of the power of nonfiction. Readers like true stories, but not all true stories are interesting. This is where fiction--and literary fraud--enters the picture, and why so many book buyers now question the integrity of the genre.
Interesting information indeed! I just recently finished "Three cups of tea" and fell completely for the story. I imagined Mortenson as a reputable and kind man.
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