I really, really wanted to love this book, but the historical inaccuracies are so bad that I just can't. I see that the author is a historian, and I am honestly baffled how a historian can make such mistakes. Otherwise, the idea is great and there are so many stories to tell, yet when reading the ones I do not know, I can never be sure they are true, when having in mind the aforementioned inaccuracies.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC copy

A great idea that ultimately fails to live up to itself and is a little underwhelming.

The concept is great, 50 lies that shaped and changed the world. However when it says a 'short' history, it really isn't kidding. Some of the lies, such as the woman who claimed to give birth to rabbits, can be explained in the couple of pages given. The problem is, roughly the same amount of pages are given to, for example, the three Dmitrys and the time of troubles. So much space is devoted to explaining the back ground of this, that the subject itself can only so briefly be touched upon.

It was however a very easy and entertaining read, and to its credit, the fact each lie was covered so briefly meant that the book moved at a fast pace. It's a very subjective title as well, as there were some 'lies' I was very surprised were not included.

There is enough in each chapter to make you want to learn more about the subject, to seek out more books on the subjects at hand, but not enough to feel as if you've really learnt anything that will stick in the mind beyond the next couple of days. The book is honest in what it is, so read this if you want to skim through world history, and get a glimpse of some fascinating non-western moments that you might otherwise miss if you have a European/American upbringing. I for one, will be looking for more info on Empress Wu, among other things.