Surveys dozens of misunderstood historical turning points, exposes controversial myths about science and religion, and reveals the long-ignored history of sexual immorality in Western civilization. The book closes with a sparkling review of the historical myths invented by Hollywood.

Some Things You Should Know Before Reading This Book (Or: Why this book is Eurocentric and why that couldn't be helped) -- pt. 1. Way Back When (Or: This seemed like a good place to begin). Trojan War. Socrates. Alexander the Great. Herodotus. Caesar. Cleopatra. Caligula. Nero. The Fall of the Roman Empire. The Barbarians -- pt. 2. The Dark Ages (Or: Why it's not OK to call them that anymore). Ignorance. The Crusades. Knights. Hundred Years' War. Shylock. The Spanish Inquisition -- pt. 3. A New Day Dawns (Or: Science for history majors). The Scientific Revolution. Copernicus. Galileo. Scientists are Human -- pt. 4. The Facts of Life (Or: Why history's not as dull as you think). Sex: I. Sex: II. Sex: III -- pt. 5. God Save the King! (Or: Goings-on at Buckingham Palace). Tradition and All That. A Dysfunctional Family. Richard Lion Heart. Henry V. Richard III. George III. Victoria. Edward VIII -- pt. 6. "This Scepter'd Isle" (Or: British history the way it should have been taught). Magna Carta. Star Chamber. Defeat of the Spanish Armada. Captain Kidd. Black Hole of Calcutta. William Bligh. Horatio Nelson. Lawrence of Arabia. Of Things Old. Of Kilts and Bagpipes -- pt. 7. Let Them Eat Brioche! (Or: French history for beginners). Joan of Arc. Louis XIV. Marie Antoinette. Rousseau. Voltaire. Lafayette. Napoleon. Alfred Dreyfus -- pt. 8. Likeable (And Not-So-Likeable) Famous People (Or: If you learned it in school, it can't be true). Machiavelli. Catherine the Great. Sun Yat-Sen. Chiang Kai-Shek. Gandhi -- pt. 9. King Arthur and Such (Or: This part's not for children). King Arthur. Lady Godiva. Robin Hood. Pied Piper. William Tell. Dracula. Frankenstein. Little Dutch Boy. Santa Claus -- pt. 10. Religion (Or: We hope nobody's offended). The Bible. Judaism. Christ. Christianity -- pt. 11. World Wars I and II (Or: Two wars we could have done without). World War I. Nazism. World War II. Hitler. Mussolini. Churchill. Hirohito -- pt. 12. Hollywood Does History (Or: Why they're bound to get it right someday). Based on a True Story. Soldiers and War. Newsreels.