I think everybody knows a little bit about Charles Berlitz. Who doesn't have a copy of "The Bermuda Triangle," "The Philadelphia Experiment" or "The Mystery of Atlantis" hanging around their house (and most likely unread.) Here's a good article about "The Flim Flam Artist." It's also interesting to note that he was one of the world's top linguists. (I wonder if he knew Noam Chomsky, another world famous linguist who is better known for his side work.)