Legends, lies, and cherished myths of world history

A humorous take on world history debunks the myths that surround Cleopatra, Nero, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Joan of Arc, and other historical icons. By the author of One Night Stands with American History. $60,000 ad/promo. Tour. "Was there really a valiant little Dutch boy, a protesting Lady Godiva, a fiddling Nero, or a prudish Queen Victoria? No, says Shenkman ....No person, event, or thing is safe from Shenkman's corrections." —Booklist Founder of George Mason University's History News Network and bestselling author of Presidential Ambition and One Night Stands with American History, Rick Shenkman is an historian, a rebel, and a myth debunker par excellence. In Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of World History, he explodes some of the most honored and long-held misconceptions about kings and despots, wars and empires, religions, inventions, from the glory days of the Roman Empire to the dark days of World War Two. Fascinating, edifying, and irreverent, here is the real world history you were never taught in school—for history buffs and confirmed trivia fanatics everywhere! Surveys dozens of misunderstood historical turning points, exposes controversial myths about science and religion, and reveals the long-ignored history of sexual immorality in Western civilization. The book closes with a sparkling review of the historical myths invented by Hollywood Surveys several misunderstood historical figures and events, exposing controversial myths about science, religion, politics, and history. Discusses such topics as Cleopatra, King Arthur, the Bible, Nazism, and the Spanish Inquisition CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS'S achieve were so great that people have been willing to believe almost anything about him, no matter how fantastic.