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lakecake's review
3.0
This was really interesting, but not quite what I thought it would be. The title is accurate--it bounces among hoaxers and showmen (including PT Barnum), dueling journalists launching the first penny newspapers in New York City, and The Moon Series published by The Sun, a hoax science story purporting to talk about discoveries on the moon including life in the form of Lunar Man-Bats. It's a history of New York City, the news business, the fight for abolition, the "humbug" culture and the beginnings of showmanship, and even Edgar Allan Poe. The problem is that with ALLLLLLL of that happening, it bounces around so much that it's hard to figure out who is doing what when, and how they all fit together.
marystephanos's review
4.0
This book is an exceptionally well-written account of a hoax that galvanized New York City in 1835, drawing in such figures as P.T. Barnum and Edgar Allan Poe and helping to usher in the newspaper age. It is also an engaging account of the development of urban newspapers in the 19th century. Recommended for anyone interested in American popular culture or the history of mass media.
bronwynmb's review
4.0
A bit uneven, but ultimately interesting. The parts about the actual articles and then the explanation of why Locke wrote the articles were the better parts. All the stuff about the newspaper/s wasn't very interesting (which is a bit funny for me personally since part of my job is writing essays about newspapers...).
captainjaq's review
4.0
Really interesting story, although the premise seems to get a bit confused at times. It's also interesting in that P.T. Barnum and E.A. Poe are both prominent figures and they both come off in a different light than one with a casual knowledge of they or their work would expect.
lizdesole's review
3.0
I can't quite put my finger on why I wasn't thrilled with this book. It was basically about the birth of tabloid journalism with such characters as Barnum and Poe making major contributions. I admit that the section on Barnum was the best part for me but even the Poe bit didn't "wow" me.
Maybe I was just in the wrong frame of mind for it?
Maybe I was just in the wrong frame of mind for it?
millennial_dandy's review
5.0
This was one of those books I picked up on a lark while waiting in line at my library. Something about the color pallet and Mr. Baker's gorgeous, strange lithograph illustrations on the cover drew me in. Then, upon reading the subheading of the title my eyebrows contracted and I may even have uttered a 'huh'. I was hooked, and The Sun and the Moon made its way home with me.
I'm not typically a reader of non-fiction, but who could resist 'the remarkable true account of hoaxers, showmen, dueling journalists, and lunar man-bats?'
The best part is that Matthew Goodman delivers every single one of those things in such a way that the kid in me who grew up reading 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' jumped for absolute joy while the adult academic in me relished the dirty details and delighted in the cameos from familiar faces such Walt Whitman and the full-blown side characters of P.T. Barnum and Edgar Allan Poe.
This is a book about the titular hoax, but it's equally an exploration of the evolution of newspaper readership in the United States, of the role of journalism among abolitionists, of the interplay between astronomy and religion. And it's all fabulously interesting. As each chapter ended I found myself mourning its completion only to find the next chapter equally as absorbing, each section building upon the last until the epilogue when the fates of those men in the center of it all are revealed.
And on top of the subject matter being inherently interesting, and the book lovingly crafted, it's well-written, each tactile detail vividly described and yet so unobstructive as to make one think one had simply been there, reflecting on a memory rather than being fed facts about a scandal over two centuries old.
I would highly, highly recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in know what the hell lunar man-bats are to someone who, like me, enjoys anything that could be prefaced by that old adage: 'the truth is stranger than fiction.'
I come away from The Sun and the Moon a little wiser and, in agreement with Philip Hone, I say that this account is: 'most enormously wonderful.'
I'm not typically a reader of non-fiction, but who could resist 'the remarkable true account of hoaxers, showmen, dueling journalists, and lunar man-bats?'
The best part is that Matthew Goodman delivers every single one of those things in such a way that the kid in me who grew up reading 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' jumped for absolute joy while the adult academic in me relished the dirty details and delighted in the cameos from familiar faces such Walt Whitman and the full-blown side characters of P.T. Barnum and Edgar Allan Poe.
This is a book about the titular hoax, but it's equally an exploration of the evolution of newspaper readership in the United States, of the role of journalism among abolitionists, of the interplay between astronomy and religion. And it's all fabulously interesting. As each chapter ended I found myself mourning its completion only to find the next chapter equally as absorbing, each section building upon the last until the epilogue when the fates of those men in the center of it all are revealed.
And on top of the subject matter being inherently interesting, and the book lovingly crafted, it's well-written, each tactile detail vividly described and yet so unobstructive as to make one think one had simply been there, reflecting on a memory rather than being fed facts about a scandal over two centuries old.
I would highly, highly recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in know what the hell lunar man-bats are to someone who, like me, enjoys anything that could be prefaced by that old adage: 'the truth is stranger than fiction.'
I come away from The Sun and the Moon a little wiser and, in agreement with Philip Hone, I say that this account is: 'most enormously wonderful.'
tien's review
2.0
I really loved [b:Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World|15796712|Eighty Days Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World|Matthew Goodman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1351213499s/15796712.jpg|21519550] so I added this book onto my tbr without further thought. I'd actually no idea exactly what this book is about so imagine my surprise when I found out that 'The Sun' referred to a penny newspaper and 'The Moon' referred to a particular hoax published by the paper. The subtitle also made it seem a lot more exciting than it is, I mean "dueling journalists"!?!? It was kind of interesting to read but there weren't that many happy endings for those involved nor were they very likeable so I tolerated the read rather than liking it.