Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History

This debunker's guide to American history includes many unforgettable revelations of misinformation we tend to venerate. How often have we been reminded that Lincoln wrote his Gettysburg Address aboard the train on his way to give the speech? Historians have been sorting out such myths for years, and their scholarship is cited unobtrusvely throughout this fascinating book. This provocative and amusingly heretical account will broaden the horizon of every reader who has never thought to question the outright fictionalizing of history over the years. The real truth about many of the myths and legends we have always believed is documented carefully in chapters on such subjects as the frontier, slavery, our Founding Fathers, Presidents, education, national shrines, and sex,,,