This books contains many digestible chapters across the span recent and ancient history, attempting to correct the record on a great number of things. I found the style very easy to read, accessible, and was glad for the historical clarifications and helpful outright debunking of unhelpful stories that have persisted through the ages. While I understand these were mostly taken from period pieces written at the time for anniversaries of events, I feel the endings of many of these were a bit too ham-fisted and trite as to the point each was making. The longer book format should have allowed for a not worrying about a tight word count. That being said, I think this book is a great read and found it helpful especially for British Catholic history. ( )

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. ( )