The Education of Little Tree is a memoir-style novel written by Asa Earl Carter under the pseudonym Forrest Carter. When first published in 1976 by Delacorte Press, it was promoted as an authentic autobiography recounting Forrest Carter's youth experiences with his Cherokee grandparents in the Appalachian mountains. However, the book was proven to be a literary hoax orchestrated by Asa Earl Carter, a KKK member from Alabama heavily involved in segregationist causes before he launched his career as a novelist. Although claimed to be autobiographical originally, it is now known to be based on Carter's fanciful and fraudulent family claims.