Legends , Lies & Cherished Myths of World History [Paperback]

Richard Shenkman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 1994

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.”

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While not exactly revisionist history as scholars define it, this is a breezy, entertaining, if occasionally too flippant, attempt to clear up many popular misconceptions. Shenkman ( Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History ) here tackles such events as the Trojan War (the one described by Homer didn't take place) and Churchill's stirring radio speeches during World War II (they were performed by an actor). Some of the purported revelations--about the numerous contradictions in the Bible and the bad rap given to Machiavelli--are hardly news. Others, like the faking of newsreels in the first half of this century and the fact that Voltaire made up the boast "I am the state," generally attributed to Louis XIV, will surprise many. Fun to read. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Was there really a valiant little Dutch boy, a protesting Lady Godiva, a fiddling Nero, or a prudish Queen Victoria? No, says Shenkman in his latest debunking effort. The historian roams the globe and the pages of history, calling up popular images and replacing them with more prosaic accounts and the reasons the mythic versions evolved in the first place. No person, event, or thing is safe from Shenkman's corrections; among his topics are Cleopatra, Scottish kilts, Copernicus, the Middle Ages, World War II, marriage, and Frankenstein. Denise Perry Donavin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 19, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060922559
• ISBN-13: 978-0060922559
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,122,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please, sir, can I have some more?, July 18, 2000

By 

G. Bonine-Giles (Maplewood, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legends , Lies & Cherished Myths of World History (Paperback)

All in all, it's a pleasant read. The problem is that Shenkman seems to get carried away with the sound of his own voice, forgetting to fill in little things like details, attributions, etc. And sometimes, his "debunking" is unnecessary.

For example, Shenkman spares great pains to tell us that works of fiction (Shakespeare, Hans Brinker, etc.) aren't true at all - they're fiction! (Perhaps in the sequal he can inform us that Harry Potter isn't a real person).

Although he admits his biases up front, this doesn't give him carte blanche to revel in them. Shenkman is unabashedly Ameri-centric, and his prejudice against other nations is sometimes appalling. For example, he denigrates the British for not being completely stoic during the Battle of Britain in WWII. His evidence? One person's diary shows that he (gasp) went to two luncheon parties during one week! Horrors! He denigrates heroes of France, England and India because, basically, they were human. God forbid!

The book isn't all bad. Shenkman (when he actually quotes his sources and doesn't prattle on about minutia) does a great service by asking us to examine our history instead of getting it spoon-fed to us. As such, this book makes a nice starting point for the re-exploration of history. If only he'd given us more to chew on, instead of a thin, sarcastic gruel.

35 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, terrible, terrible, January 19, 2005

By 

Jordan M. Poss (Georgia, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legends , Lies & Cherished Myths of World History (Paperback)

As a professional historian I was appalled by this book. I have a pretty generous sense of humor, but Shenkman's weak attempts at debunking popular conceptions and his "breezy" wit were too much. He propogates just as much bad history as he purports to correct, oversimplifying such complex subjects as Alexander's conquests and the fall of Rome, and his section on Judaism could easily be called anti-Semitic. It should come as no surprise that he skips over relgions that it's not okay to ridicule--only Jews and Christians are the butt of jokes, here. As another reviewer said, Shenkman seems to like hearing himself talk--so true. His narrative style reminds of me those self-important people you hear dominating restaurant conversation so often.
If you really must have something historical to laugh at, check out The Lowbrow's Guide to History, which, at least, doesn't pretend to be telling the truth.

27 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Trades one set of myths for another, May 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Legends , Lies & Cherished Myths of World History (Paperback)

The author warns in the introduction that he is not to be trusted, and it is a good idea to heed his advice. Indeed, the book does identify some facts that need to be debunked, as do similarly themed books such as Myth Information by J. Allen Varasdi and Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. And Shenkman is an amusing writer with a reader-friendly style. But Shenkman doesn't deal primarily with specific factoids that are simply incorrect. He sprinkles historical facts into a highly subjective view of history. True, some subjective views may not fit the facts well, but Shenkman often settles for exploding an old hasty generalization by substituting a generalization of his own. Too often, he cites "no evidence" as permission to draw conclusions that themselves have no support. If you know something about history, this book is apt to frustrate you. If you don't know much history, this book is no place to start.