*This review was based on a galley. Book
will be released 10/1/2012.
Age: Young Adult, 10-14
Genre: Non-fiction, Historical
In 1869 in the farmland of Cardiff, New York, a rare and
exciting discovery was unearthed from the property of William “Stub” Newell.
While several men helped Newell dig a new well, they hit upon what they
believed to be a large stone. Upon further investigation, the stone resembled
an oversized human foot. With some more help, the men were able to unearth the
entire body of what appeared to be a giant man who had been petrified (turned
to stone). Local Native American legends
had told of a group called the Onondaga, who were stone giants that had
terrorized the area long ago. Could this petrified man be a lost member of the
Onondaga? Or was he proof of the existence of giants mentioned in the Bible?
Either way, Stub Newell had a sensation on his hands with the discovery of what
was called the “Cardiff Giant.”
He began charging people to come see this find, and as
newspapers covered the story, more and more spectators came. The author
believes the crowds were especially drawn to the news of the giant because of
the dark times they were living in—deaths
in the civil war, the assassination of President Lincoln, and a massive
economic depression. Murphy writes, “The Cardiff Giant offered readers
something positive and inspiring to think about, something to distract them
from more troubling news.” It may have been because of their thirst for good
and interesting news that few people questioned the authenticity of the giant.
Scientists examined it and some proclaimed it “positively absurd to consider
this a fossil man,” while others called it “the most remarkable object yet
brought to light in our country, and … deserving of the attention of
archeologists.” The debate itself drew more attention to the giant—and more money to Newell’s
pockets. So was it a hoax, or was the giant truly a fossilized man? After much
research, the author is able to proclaim the truth behind the mystery, leaving
the reader to question the science and the people of a more naïve time.
In this book, Murphy has presented a true story many are
probably unfamiliar with, and he has presented it well. Murphy seems to have
used every resource at his disposal to gather facts from all sides of the story
of the Cardiff Giant, as evidenced by his extensive bibliography of interviews,
books, newspaper clippings, and photographs. I found it interesting to follow
the story of the giant and its creators and to wonder about how so many people
could have been so easily fooled. The photographs and replications of posters
add greatly to the text and should help the young reader to better understand
the goings-on and mood of the time. However, I am left wondering if young
readers will be interested enough in this story to want to read it in the first
place. It is aimed at ages 10-14 (grades 5-9), and the writing style seems to
that level, but there is not a lot to draw a young reader in to the book. They
have likely never heard of the subject, and unless they have a particular interest
in oddities or hoaxes, probably wouldn’t want to read a whole 112-page book on
it. The subject of the Cardiff Giant may have been better suited to a chapter
in a book on oddities instead of carrying a text by itself.
Technical Note: I read this book as an electronic edition on
a Nook e-reader, and it did not translate appropriately to the smaller format. The
photos didn’t line up with their photo boxes and captions, often appearing on
different pages entirely. Also, because of the column format, the text size was
either very large or too small to read with no in between. However the appearance
was fine on my computer screen.
Bibliographical
Information:
Murphy, Jim.
The Giant and How He Humbugged America. New
York: Scholastic Press, 2012.
