After falling for one historical misconception too many, the time is now right to launch a spirited fightback. The moment has come to set the record straight, once and for all. Leading the way in this modern crusade comes Napoleon wasn't short and St Patrick wasn't Irish, a light hearted guide that reveals the many myths, fabrications and ambiguities found in the annals of world history. For example, Sir Walter Raleigh did not bring back either the potato or tobacco from the New World, Abraham Lincoln did not write the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope, Winston Churchill was not born in a ladies' toilet and Lucrezia Borgia was not an infamous poisoner. Written with wit and fascinating insight, and covering numerous subjects - from royalty to religion, saints to statesmen, inventors and explorers, and the lives of famous characters throughout history - this book is guaranteed to astonish and inform, amuse and entertain.