Fake Heroes: Ten False Icons and How they Altered the Course of History

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I did find this book entertaining and informative. But I had two main problems with it. Firstly, I think the author is just a little too open in using the book to display his political opinions. Would I be saying this if I didn’t agree with all of them? Well, that is a speculative question. But I would say that I was more annoyed with it interrupting the flow of historical discussion. We are told that Kathleen Scott and Nansen were lovers, and that their affair was consumated in a Berlin hotel, there is absolutely no reliable evidence for this whatsoever, and it appears to have been invented by Huntford. They may have been friends, and Nansen may have had a crush on her, but hey, Kathleen was a vivacious and sociable lady, she had a lot of pals, it doesn't mean she was banging all of them, GOSH! Also I think this may have been one of the things Huntford had to pay the Scott family damages over, because it's not truuuueeeee 🤠 Szerintem nem érdemes azzal az előfeltételezéssel olvasni, hogy ez történelemtudomány. A történelemtudománynak (és minden tudománynak) ugyanis valahol feltétele, hogy az ember összegyűjti az adatokat, aztán levon belőlük valamilyen következtetést. Ha van is előzetes hipotézise, azért csak az adat az úr. Englishnek viszont van egy karcolhatatlan elképzelése arról, hogy a nacionalizmus hülyeség, a nemzetek története merő hazugsággyár, a Brit Birodalom pedig szégyellje össze magát. Amivel egy csomó ponton egyet is értek. Ebből kiindulva a szerző összegereblyézik mindenféle kis színest, elegyíti őket némi jópofáskodással*, egy kis csúsztatással, aztán az egész masszát áradó lendülettel az arcunkba tolja. Történelmi evidenciákat úgy ad elő, mintha azok egy általa felfedezett földrész partvidékei lennének, és úgy megy neki a nemzeti panteon legendáinak, mintha személyes sérelmeket akarna megtorolni rajtuk. Ez amúgy nem feltétlenül rossz - lehet ebből szórakoztató, sőt: intelligens kötetet építeni. Csak hát ez nem tudomány - sokkal inkább rokon a propagandával. De végtére is az is egy műfaj.

The author's problem with Andy Warhol is somewhat unclear. I mean, we know that many of Warhol's works weren't actually physically produced by Warhol himself, so this is not really new information. There was never any sense in which Andy Warhol tried to claim otherwise, as his entire artistic life was about blurring the boundaries between consumerism and art. Nevertheless, Otto English doesn't like Warhol at all, which is understandable in some ways, but not comprehensively explained. Queen Bee ( Kuin Hachisuka • Bee☆Pop) • Mario Kugutsu • Hina • Number 6 • Instant Villains ( Akira Iwako • Junkie Villain • Ryuichi Gojiyama • Monster Cat • Eiji Okameda • Rikiya Eno) • Next-Level Villains ( Teruo Unagisawa • Kirihito Kamachi • Bat Villain • Octoid • Tommy S. Gordon • Willy Wanda • Bombers) • Anonymous For a better overview of Scott and of what went wrong on the Terra Nova expedition, I'd suggest A First Rate Tragedy by Diana Preston and The Coldest March by Susan Solomon (whose research on the Ozone layer is mentioned in a later chapter of this very book!). Teruo Unagisawa • Kirihito Kamachi • Bat Villain • Octoid • Tommy S. Gordon • Willy Wanda • Bombers • Anonymous Coco Chanel grew up mostly in an orphanage run by nuns. Her flair for fashion was real, and she was industrious, but as she became hugely successful, a pretty dark side to her personality emerged. She was a Nazi collaborator who treated her staff with contempt, was unethical in her business dealings, and had a string of affairs with fellow fascist sympathizers.Cow Cowboy • Villain Bots • Three Sturm und Drang Brothers • Emperor Yotsuura • Ichiro Hotta • Jiro Hotta • Suicide Bomber • Mazinger Brothers • Robber Villain • Garvey I felt that this book didn’t quite meet my expectations, but I still got much out of it. To that extent I will give the sequel “Fake Heroes” a go. Not in the least that, to my regret, I was once a Che Guevara fanboy. Much has changed since then. Journalist and author Otto English takes apart ten of the greatest lies from history and shows how our present continues to be twisted and manipulated by the fabrications of the past.

To be frank, I like the accessible language the author used to write the book. There is no pretension in how he makes his arguments, which I can appreciate.Soga Kugisaki • Moyuru Tochi • Rapt Tokage • Akira Iwako • Teruo Unagisawa • Monster Cat • Chuma Yakumaru • Ryuichi Gojiyama • Eiji Okameda • Rikiya Eno

Let's get the problems out of the way first: this is a really inadequately edited book. There are numerous typos and other errors scattered throughout it, which no publishing house worth its salt should have let through. The writing is uneven at times and seems almost as if it was rushed, while the narrative is also fascinating in places. The overall premise of the book, however, is difficult to argue with, that "History, much like modern life, is in short full of bullies, self-promoting charlatans, bigots, bastards, and liars." Another way of putting it is that "the person who shouts the loudest gets all the acclaim," which is mentioned by way of explaining why Thomas Edison is widely regarded as the inventor of the light bulb, when it's not really that simple. A fun, authoritative and alternative history of the world that exposes some of the biggest lies ever told and how they've been used over time. This is a mixed bag that deconstructs "great lies" of history and attempts, with varying degrees of success, to find parallels with the current political reality. The brilliant chapters on the hyper-mythologised version of Winston Churchill and weaponising of WWI/WWII memory in modern Britain will resonate with any Brit who has had the misfortune to question Churchill's legacy or, heaven forbid, neglected to wear a paper flower. I even liked the chapter on the dubious origins of "curry."

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Otto English dives into the hidden lives of some of history's biggest names. Separating the myth-builders from the fraudsters and celebrating some of the genuine unsung heroes from our history, Fake Heroes exposes the truth of the past and helps us understand why that matters today.