Is James Frey Ripping Off Wikipedia?

Gawker has the low down, so I'll just quote them:

James Frey Might Want To Go Back To Just Making Things Up

Over at his website, Big Jim Industries, disgraced memoirist James Frey posts the first paragraph of his new book Here it is:

On September 4, 1781, a group of 46 men, women and children who called themselves the Pobladores established a settlement in what is now the City of Los Angeles. They named it El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula. Two-thirds of the settlers were African, of African descent or mulatto.

Okay, it doesn't exactly grab us by the balls and leave us gasping for more, but it's sharp and informational. This is, of course, James Frey, though, so we thought we'd trust but verify. How does Wikipedia describe the founding of Los Angeles?

The Mission Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles was established on September 4, 1781 by a group of 46 Spanish and Mexican settlers from Sonora who had set out from the San Gabriel mission to establish a settlement along the banks of the Porciúncula River. These settlers were of African, Indian, and Spanish ancestry of which two-thirds were mulatto.

Well, you've got to applaud the commitment to accuracy, at least.

First Paragraph of New Book [Big Jim Industries]
Los Angeles [Wikipedia]

Maybe he's just messing with us?

Tags: James Frey, Gawker, Los Angeles, plagerism