A Guide to Cheating in School

Bob Corbett of Hermosa Beach is testing the adage “cheaters never prosper.” The 25-year-old has written a book--perhaps the book--on cheating in class. “The Cheater’s Handbook: The Naughty Student’s Bible” (ReganBooks, 1999, $12) offers a host of subversive pointers on how to succeed in school without really studying.

Some of the highlights include where to sit in class for the best view of someone else’s paper and what to wear to best conceal cheat sheets, in addition to a memorable discussion about lying your way out of a test by using “The Golden Excuse”--diarrhea.

Corbett admits to cheating his way through a Connecticut prep school and Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

“I was addicted to cheating the way a guy is addicted to gambling at the race track,” said Corbett, who was an upright citizen until the fifth grade.

His text has prompted its share of outrage. It’s morally wrong, one critic said. Corbett’s response?

“Duhhhhh,” he said. “If someone wants to talk seriously about this, they’d see it as a challenge to the teaching community. Come on, you’re so boring.”