Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of World History - Hardcover

Shenkman, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006016803X ISBN 13: 9780060168032

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1993

Synopsis

A humorous take on world history debunks the myths that surround Cleopatra, Nero, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Joan of Arc, and other historical icons

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Whistleblowing historian Richard Shenkman skewers the nonsense we were all taught about the world’s revolutions, religions, heroes, and inventors in a whirlwind tour of history.

Queen Victoria may have usually worn black, but she loved to drink and party.

The English were conned during World War II. Winston Churchill’s famous “finest hour” radio broadcast was not delivered by Winston Churchill but by Norman Shelley, an actor hired to be Churchill’s stand-in.

Marie Antoinette did not say, “Let them eat cake,” Churchill didn’t coin the phrase “the Iron Curtain,” and Caesar never said, “Et tu, Brute?”

Scandal in the English monarchy is nothing new: Fifteen kings fathered children out of wedlock. One queen helped depose her husband so her lover could take his place. Three English kings were gay.

Eclectic, eccentric, edifying, and fun, Richard Shenkman’s eye-opening revelations prove that much of history is indeed “but a fable agreed upon.”

About the Author:

Richard Shenkman is an associate professor of history at George Mason University and the New York Times bestselling author of six history books, including Presidential Ambition; Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of American History; and Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth About the American Voter. The editor and founder of George Mason University’s History News Network website, he can be seen regularly on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 006016803X
• ISBN 13: 9780060168032
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 301
• Illustrator: McKeon George J.