It is often said that history is written by the victors. But the "victors" in this context are not just the winners of wars and battles. They are also those who hold sway over public opinion or who manage to influence how history is taught from one generation to the next. As Dominic Selwood points out in his introduction to his book, the bare facts of history are rarely disputed - it is the spin which is given to these facts which is often debatable. And once a particular "interpretation" becomes standard, a certain intellectual laziness sets in, and prejudices about the past become entrenched.

In this book, an anthology of articles which originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph and the Spectator, Selwood gleefully pulls apart mainstream interpretations of history. The thirty-seven chapters span two millennia, from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem to the modern world, with a particular emphasis on the Medieval world (Selwood's main area of expertise). His is a declared revisionist agenda. Given the current renewed interest medievalism, I suspect (or, rather, hope) that few will dispute his observation that the Dark Ages were not so dark after all or that the English Reformation was a bloody, politically driven affair which obliterated most of England's rich Catholic cultural heritage. His doubts about the morality of the fire-bombing of Dresden will doubtless strike a chord with many readers, as will his denunciation of the injustice suffered by the Knights Templar. On the other hand, fresh from the Magna Carta anniversary celebrations, his articles claiming that this hallowed document was, ultimately, no big deal, will likely lead to much shaking of heads. His spirited defence of Lord Elgin is also unfashionable. But Selwood is at his best and most entertaining when he is at his most controversial.

Besides being a historian, journalist and solicitor, Selwood was also written fiction, including a historical thriller. He certainly knows how to tell a good story. The pieces included in this anthology are tightly argued and underpinned by a thorough knowledge of the subject; yet, they are also enlivened by a strong narrative drive and an underlying sense of humour.

Not all articles are polemical in nature. There are, for instance, chapters about England's adoption of the Gregorian calendar and proto-computer programmer Ada Lovelace and two particularly hair-raising pieces about two World War II spies "Agent Garbo" and Noor Inayat Khan.

My quibble about this book is that there has been no attempt to edit the articles prior to their publication in book form. As a result, there is overlapping between some of the chapters, there are frequent references to contemporary events and recent anniversaries (with the risk that they might eventually start sounding "dated") and there are no references, bibliography or index as one would find in a conventional history book. But, then again, this is no "conventional history book". And it is this which ultimately makes it so readable.

This is a review of an ebook edition kindly provided by the publishers. ( )

A very late review - A very interesting collection of somewhat revisionist history, with a concentration in the medieval period. Because it's a compilation of essays written for newspaper, it is disjointed at points, and too often references events in the then-current news. But it's engaging and interesting.

It is often said that history is written by the victors. But the "victors" in this context are not just the winners of wars and battles. They are also those who hold sway over public opinion or who manage to influence how history is taught from one generation to the next. As Dominic Selwood points out in his introduction to his book, the bare facts of history are rarely disputed - it is the spin which is given to these facts which is often debatable. And once a particular "interpretation" becomes standard, a certain intellectual laziness sets in, and prejudices about the past become entrenched.

In this book, an anthology of articles which originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph and the Spectator, Selwood gleefully pulls apart mainstream interpretations of history. The thirty-seven chapters span two millennia, from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem to the modern world, with a particular emphasis on the Medieval world (Selwood's main area of expertise). His is a declared revisionist agenda. Given the current renewed interest medievalism, I suspect (or, rather, hope) that few will dispute his observation that the Dark Ages were not so dark after all or that the English Reformation was a bloody, politically driven affair which obliterated most of England's rich Catholic cultural heritage. His doubts about the morality of the fire-bombing of Dresden will doubtless strike a chord with many readers, as will his denunciation of the injustice suffered by the Knights Templar. On the other hand, fresh from the Magna Carta anniversary celebrations, his articles claiming that this hallowed document was, ultimately, no big deal, will likely lead to much shaking of heads. His spirited defence of Lord Elgin is also unfashionable. But Selwood is at his best and most entertaining when he is at his most controversial.

Besides being a historian, journalist and solicitor, Selwood was also written fiction, including a historical thriller. He certainly knows how to tell a good story. The pieces included in this anthology are tightly argued and underpinned by a thorough knowledge of the subject; yet, they are also enlivened by a strong narrative drive and an underlying sense of humour.

Not all articles are polemical in nature. There are, for instance, chapters about England's adoption of the Gregorian calendar and proto-computer programmer Ada Lovelace and two particularly hair-raising pieces about two World War II spies "Agent Garbo" and Noor Inayat Khan.

My quibble about this book is that there has been no attempt to edit the articles prior to their publication in book form. As a result, there is overlapping between some of the chapters, there are frequent references to contemporary events and recent anniversaries (with the risk that they might eventually start sounding "dated") and there are no references, bibliography or index as one would find in a conventional history book. But, then again, this is no "conventional history book". And it is this which ultimately makes it so readable.

This is a review of an ebook edition kindly provided by the publishers. ( )

Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers: The History You Weren't Taught in School
By Dominic Selwood

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a HONEST review. Please understand that this is MY OPINION.

This book was a compilation of newspaper articles that the author did not alter except for the titles. Because of this, some of the stories are repetitive in places (especially the ones dealing with Magna Carta). The topics range from Biblical times all the way to the modern day.

The book, for the most part, was interesting and informative. I would say that about 70% of the stories/articles were of interest to me but the remaining 30% seemed to have been written as filler when nothing else could be "dug up". I learned quite a bit of new information and if the author writes (complies) another book of similar type stories, I would definitely be interested in purchasing it.

If you are interesting in learning new "tidbits" about history and maybe UNLEARNING a few, this is the book for you.

I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. ( )

Six-word review: Divesting history of long-established misrepresentations.

(a dreadfully late Early Reviewer review)

Extended review:

This book promised to show me things I wasn't taught in school. It surely did that: not only was I not taught the accurate version of most of these pieces of history, I wasn't even taught the incorrect one.

But the book also showed me something that I doubt that the author intended at all.

I'm not a British subject by citizenship, nor by adoption or Anglophile pose. I'm an American, born and raised in New England. But my history didn't begin with Jamestown in 1607 or the Mayflower in 1620, much less in 1775 with the firing of muskets on Lexington Green. Before the arrival of the first North American colonists, mine is as much the history of English-speaking and European peoples as any current resident of London or Paris or Amsterdam.

The history of the U.S. is not the history of the American people, or at least not much of it. Our country is young, but our antecedents necessarily predate the colonies. Except for Native Americans of unmixed blood, our ancestry is predominantly European. And for Americans whose ethnicity is of European origin, European history is as much ours as Americans of, say, Chinese or Egyptian ethnicity can claim the history of their ancestors on other continents.

Self-evident, perhaps, but I have to admit that I never quite considered it in this light before.

So in reading Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers: The History You Weren't Taught in School, I finally came to realize that the myths and truths of Britain's past aren't their story--some other "they." They're our story. Mine too. And that understanding gave a special edge to my experience of this book.

In fact, however, the book isn't addressed to an American audience. I wasn't taught much of this in school, either as fact or as fiction here debunked. Sure, we were granted passing acquaintance with major players on the European stage, but I encountered far more of their names in studying the arts and sciences than in history classes, apart from the kings and statesmen who figured prominently during our colonial period and subsequent revolution.

I'm speaking here of required history classes taken throughout my school years: not special topics chosen from a catalogue of college-level course offerings but the things that all students were expected to learn.

I've also absorbed a great deal of English history through my reading, both fiction and nonfiction, and through television dramas, which may evoke period flavor and custom even while taking major liberties with the players.

So I knew some of the less popular and palatable narratives here exposed, such as a bit of the complex and demythologized history of Richard I, but others were surprising. For instance, the lore and romance surrounding Magna Carta (the author doesn't say "the Magna Carta") are one casualty; having the story demystifed is nearly as disappointing as it was when I learned that Christopher Columbus was not a good guy. I'm always in favor of knowing the truth and defeating self-delusion, but I also think that being stripped of all our mythology impoverishes us and even, here with a nod to Joseph Campbell, impairs our ability to live wisely and well. I came away wanting to un-know some things, or at least to arrive at a truce that permits us to sustain a double narrative, as we may do with, say, Christmas and Robin Hood. We need our heroes and our cultural icons, after all.

I must note that the book, which is a collection of previously published essays on specific topics, doesn't confine itself to the history of Britain; there are several chapters pertaining to the ancient world and to other European countries. But the principal focus is British and the target audience is undoubtedly British.

The book is engagingly written, full of the author's insights and cross-connections among facts, relating observations that illuminate the past to perceptions current in today's understanding. For example, "Although the Vikings are at times increasingly presented as slightly comical figures, no one was laughing in late 700s England" (page 28). I took in another view of Henry VIII, of the Elgin Marbles, of witchcraft. Despite raising an eyebrow a time or two--in the early 1600s, there was no USA (page 63)--I enjoyed the book and learned a great deal more from it than a compilation of unpopular facts.

My thanks to the publisher, Cruz Publishing, of the U.K., for the first hard copy to be shipped to North America, and my apologies for gross tardiness in posting my review. ( )