First published 2010
In August 1835, the upstart newspaper the Sun publishes six articles claiming astronomers have discovered life on the moon. The reports describe unicorns, beavers walking upright, and four-foot-tall winged humanoids dwelling on the lunar surface. New York readers devour these fantastical accounts, and within weeks the Sun becomes the most widely circulated paper on Earth. The hoax transforms a working-class publication into a global sensation while New York itself stands poised between its rough past and glittering future. Goodman follows the crew of writers, editors, and opportunists who accidentally invented a new form of journalism. Their audacious deception reveals how the penny press created America's first mass readership and changed how news reaches the public forever.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, journalism, 19th-century
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, found-family
Setting: New York
Period: 1835
360 pages · Paperback · Basic Books