The Truth About History - Reader's Digest

This collection of updated information refuting commonly accepted beliefs about history ranges across a variety of events and periods, from the real composition and nature of dodos (related to pigeons, they were not as large as portrayed, had stringy meat, and became extinct not from being hunted but because of depredation by introduced species like rats) to how creating giant stone sculptures destroyed Easter island, (the stones were maneuvered into place using wooden rollers - as competition to create more and better sculptures escalated, all the available trees were utilised, allowing top soil to escape and rendering the land unable to support life). Along the way the reader learns about Cleopatra (not that beautiful), the probable cause of the decline of the Roman empire (mosquitoes not lead), and why the Titanic sunk.

Each account ranges in length from a small paragraph (grouped under a broad heading, like "Diagnoses: a doctor's treatment of history" which contains entries on the probable real reason van Gogh severed his ear (Meniere's disease) to the cause of George Washington's death (acute epiglottitis).

I discovered new information about a huge range of events, from the real cause of the Salem witch trials (not ergot poisoning, as I'd believed, but due to geopolitical tensions in the town) to how the standard depiction of human evolution misportrays our ancestors (erect walking emerged considerably earlier). Though generally not extensive, each section appears well researched and would serve as a great jumping off point for further research if the reader's interest was triggered. The take home message is that history is not written in stone, a message one's never too old to be reminded of. - Alex