Michael Farquhar, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Behind the Palace Doors and Secret Lives of the Tsars, as well as the popular Penguin "Treasury" series: A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, and A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. He lives in Washington, D.C.

"The facts of this passing parade of perfidious knaves, nasty poltroons, incompetent liars and just some unlucky folk who slipped on bygone banana peels make for leisurely reading—and it's surely a story to be continued." --Kirkus Reviews"A catalog of historical anecdotes in which the historical agents experienced very bad days indeed." --Library Journal

Michael Farquhar, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Behind the Palace Doors and Secret Lives of the Tsars, as well as the popular Penguin "Treasury" series: A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, and A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. He lives in Washington, D.C.

"The facts of this passing parade of perfidious knaves, nasty poltroons, incompetent liars and just some unlucky folk who slipped on bygone banana peels make for leisurely reading—and it's surely a story to be continued." --Kirkus Reviews"A catalog of historical anecdotes in which the historical agents experienced very bad days indeed." --Library Journal

Michael Farquhar, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Behind the Palace Doors and Secret Lives of the Tsars, as well as the popular Penguin "Treasury" series: A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, and A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. He lives in Washington, D.C.

"The facts of this passing parade of perfidious knaves, nasty poltroons, incompetent liars and just some unlucky folk who slipped on bygone banana peels make for leisurely reading—and it's surely a story to be continued." --Kirkus Reviews"A catalog of historical anecdotes in which the historical agents experienced very bad days indeed." --Library Journal