In what's becoming an annual literary tradition, a new memoir has been canceled due to blatant lying. The Last Train From Hiroshima, by Charles Pellegrino, an account of the mission to deliver the atomic bomb and the destruction it wrought, seems to have a discredited source, a shady author, and more exciting and egregious problems, documented by The New York Times here. And so Mr. Pellegrino joins the esteemed ranks of James Frey, JT LeRoy, Misha Defonseca, and most recently in Germany, Helene Hegemann, a 17-year-old playwright who, unlike the aforementioned authors who hung their heads in shame after being outed, has proudly stood by her novel, comparing her borrowing of other sources to DJ's mixing records.

It's an interesting point, and one raised explicitly by David Shields's new book, Reality Hunger: A Manifesto. In a chapter exploring the great literary fakers of the last decade he asks,

"What if America isn't really the sort of place where a street urchin can charm his way to the top through diligence and talent? What if instead it's the sort of place where heartwarming stories about abused children who triumphed through adversity are made up and marketed?"

That's only one small facet of a rollicking and thoughtful read. Shields is attempting to make sense of the transition we're amidst and predict, or help direct, where it might be headed. And he freely incorporates jokes, quotes, passages, and points from a sources ranging from Plutarch to Sarah Silverman. A more in depth look here from The Stranger.

In the meantime if you want to read some riveting and gut wrenching things about Hiroshima check out Wilfred Burchett, the first western journalist to visit Hiroshima and whose attempts at reporting were met with extreme adversity.