Joe Gould's Teeth

«Joe Gould’s Teeth» by Jill Lepore is a biography of Greenwich Village bohemian Joe Gould (1889-1957). He inspired the book «Joe Gould’s Secret,» by Joseph Mitchell (1965), and film of the same name (2000). Gould was a semi-homeless writer who claimed to be writing an «oral history of the contemporary world,» based on stories he overheard and wrote down in numerous composition books, which he stored with various friends. It is a mystery whether the oral history actually exists, or whether it was a fantasy that allowed Gould to have a grand purpose (and maybe generate donations). He died in a psychiatric hospital.