Customer Reviews

The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked

5 star:		(1)
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This is a great book of anecdotes---amusing, informative and full of surprise and delight for a fan of history. Winston Churchill once called anecdotes "The Gleaming Toys of History" and I agree.
Author Brian Thomsen has captured a wonderful collection of modern celebrity and historical anecdotes that tell interesting and surprising facts of "the story behing the story" of famous people(ie.Joe DiMaggio), places (Ireland), and movies("It's a Wonderful Life"). His style is sharp and full of wit (dry and wet). The research is impressive.
I was especially pleased that the anecdotes are popular enough for me to tell before a wide spectrum of audiences. I give, on occassion, speeches and attend quite a few corporate dinners. This book allows me to spice up the conversation and inject interesting appropiate stories on these occasions. It has been said that "a person who can dominate a London dinner party can control the world"---this book may not allow you to control the world, but it will make your slice of it more interesting for your companions. I give this gem of a book a solid five star ranking

Quick true-or-false quiz: Johnny Cash served hard time in the slammer; Ulysses S. Grant was last in his West Point class; The phrase 'Under God' has always been part of the Pledge of Allegiance. If you answered false to all three, congratulations! If you didn't, you should pick up a copy of this book to learn the truth about Johhny C. and lots of other history and pop culture myths.

In 246 pages, author Brian Thomsen debunks over 60 popular myths ranging from St. Patrick to the Bush Administration. Along the way the reader discovers that the Alamo wasn't necessarily a heroic last stand, that Abner Doubleday didn't invent baseball, that the 'Great Escape' wasn't so great, who Mario Puzo's real-life model for Don Corleone was and so on.

Light fare but fun reading.

Some of it is "old hat" facts an educated person should have already known, some of it is "interesting gossip", and a small portion is new knowledge. It is a real "bathroom book". I have enjoyed it but probably would not give it as a gift.