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Fake History

Ten Great Lies and How They Shaped the World

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Fake History

By: Otto English
Narrated by: Otto English
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About this listen

A fun, authoritative and alternative history of the world that exposes some of the biggest lies ever told and how they've been used over time.

Lincoln did not believe all men were created equal.

The Aztecs were not slaughtered by the Spanish Conquistadors.

And Churchill was not the man that people love to remember.

Journalist and author Otto English takes apart 10 of the greatest lies from history and shows how our present continues to be twisted and manipulated by the fabrications of the past.

Much of what we assume to be true or are encouraged to believe to be true is simply wrong. Whether propagated by politicians and think tanks, populists or the media, the family tales of childhood or your Facebook friend's feed - fake history is everywhere and it impacts, ever more, on our modern world.

This book dismantles the lazy and pernicious tropes of the past as Otto English sets out to redress the balance and reclaim truth from those who seek to pervert it.

Fake History will expose everything you weren't told in school and reveal why you weren't taught it.

©2021 Otto English (P)2021 Audible, Ltd Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Politics & Government World Thought-Provoking Funny Imperialism Winston Churchill Colonial Period Latin American Abraham Lincoln

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All stars
Most relevant
The premise here is good and it is consistently entertaining.

But for a book on fake history, the errors are a bit infuriating. Some sections are stronger than others, but there are clearly areas in which the author is not an expert and it shows. The glaring example that stuck in my head was to conflate the Pax Romana with the fall of Carthage, despite them being separated by more than a century.

The author also fails to acknowledge that there can be more than one ‘history’. Events are complicated. It is possible to have more than one narrative, sometimes competing, sometimes contradictory, and for them both to be ‘true’.

The book is on much stronger ground when discussing flat out lies, and why they are told.

All in all, a good read, but ironically enough, in places it should be taken with a pinch of salt.

A few too many errors for a book on fake history..

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Brilliant set of analyses of historical myths masquerading as truth.

Both humorous and hugely insightful.

Probably not suitable for hardcore supporters of Brexit, Boris, or Trump though…

Just awesome!

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The reader sounds like an “outraged” leftie. Most of the alleged hidden truths are very well known.

Over wrought rant

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Overall I enjoyed the book. As is to be expected the authors biases popped up occasionally. But if you learn anything from this book it is to realise it easy to bend the perspective of the narrative. I hope it is widely read.

very well worth reading ( or listening)

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I’m not even sure where to start with this review.
Whilst I consider myself to be a pretty intelligent person, I didn’t attend education beyond 16. Therefore my English isn’t the best and a good portion of the language used in the book is challenging. However…. I get it. I’m not going to try and explain why here. The only thing I have to say is that it really wish there were a method to get this message across to those who need it and are never going to read/listen to the book.

Essential listening

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