Legends & Lies of World History

Bestselling author of Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of American History now takes on the world! Skewering the nonsense we were all taught about the world's revolutions, religions, heroes, and inventors, Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of World History is a whirlwind tour of history from the Trojan War to World War II. Eclectic and fun, Richard Shenkman's well-documented revelations prove that muck of history is indeed "but a fable agreed upon."

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

• During World War II the English were conned into believing it was Winston Churchill who broadcast the speech about this being their finest hour. But it wasn't Churchill, it was Norman Shelley, a radio actor hired as a 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.