Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of World History

“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!

Think you know your history? What if what you learned in school was wrong?

Debunking History: Find out why Nero never fiddled while Rome burned, why Lady Godiva never protested, and what really happened to the little Dutch boy at the dike. Ancient World Misconceptions: Uncover the truth about Cleopatra’s famous beauty (or lack thereof), the real reason Caesar crossed the Rubicon, and why the Roman Empire didn’t actually fall in 476 A.D. Myths of the Middle Ages: Learn why the Dark Ages weren’t so dark, whether King Arthur ever held court at a Round Table, and how the story of Robin Hood changed over the centuries. Modern History Trivia: From Napoleon’s real height to the surprising truth about the Blitz during World War II, this book sets the record straight on the events that shaped our modern world.