Lies, Half-Truths, and More Lies

History is replete with stories of great people and extraordinary events that either never happened or didn’t happen the way we were told they did. Such news or embellishment thereof are part of what we consider common knowledge – information taught in schools and passed down to us. And they are wrong. How about these gems:

The winter of 1777-78 was the coldest winter in Valley Forge in years, and many Continental soldiers died from the sub-zero weather: LIE

Mohandas Gandhi held a lifelong belief in nonviolence, that characterized the struggle for Indian independence: LIE

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the mostr destructive air strikes against Japan during World War II: LIE

Lies, Lies, and More Lies is a humorous, witty, and charming collection of anecdotes surrounding history, pop culture, and more. It is a book that will have readers questioning what they’ve learned or been told and, for these 250 facts anyway, the book advises you: Don’t You Believe It!

Herb W. Reich has worked a lifetime in publishing. He spent 15 years as senior acquisitions editor at John Wiley & Sons. Before that, he administered the behavioral science publishing program at Basic Books and served as editorial director of the Macmillan Book Clubs. He is the author of the Skyhorse title Lies They Teach in School. He edited The Odyssey Scientific Library, contributed to The Random House Dictionary of the English Language and the Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, and spent two years as a staff writer with NBC-TV.