Author Unknown

Continuing my nonfiction theme, I read this book because I wanted to find out about "A Visit from St. Nicholas," or "Twas the Night before Christmas." The poem is attributed to Clement Moore, but Foster, who is a master sleuth of writing, shows why it almost certainly wasn't written by Moore. This case comes late in the book, however, and Foster expertly draws the reader in with his involvement in the Unabomber case, as well as other writers who wanted to hide their identities for various reasons. After he establishes how an English professor came to be consulted by the… show more.

I was fascinated by Foster’s detective work in literary history–searching for the actual authors of poems, political novels, and proclamations, the authors of which had always been considered “anonymous.” Using a variety of ingenious methods, Foster tracks down the persons behind mysterious documents ranging from the Unabomber’s threats to “The Night Before Christmas.”

I loved Foster’s wry and sometimes caustic sense of humor, especially when he is skewering the “experts” whom he proves to be wrong. This book is, quite simply, great fun for the intellectually curious.