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A Short History of the World in 50 Lies by Natasha Tidd ISBN: 978-1-78929-783-6 Published by Michael O’Mara Books - 2025 • Sam Hawksmoor review

It probably comes as no surprise to learn that everything you learned in history at school is based upon a lie. This is not to say things didn’t happen. Julius Caesar was still stabbed for good reason but most of what you learned about him was just PR.  Same goes for much else you might remember.  When you’re young you don’t question what you’re told or read, as history is told by the victors of the battles, not the victims. Kings raise armies of peasants to gain ‘glory’ – but not for the poor peasants on the battlefields on either side who died of gangrene or by spear or arrow. Losers don’t get to tell any stories.

So, Natasha Tidd’s timely book is a useful antidote to heroics and all that passes for history.  From the ancient world to the middle-ages and the 20th Century Ms. Tidd exposes the myths with a speedy dispatch and it is amazing how often anti-semitism rears its ugly head and leads to mass slaughter. Everyone needs someone to blame for a plague or witchcraft or famine and the Jews were an easy target.  The poisonous The Protocols of Zion was a spurious piece of fiction, but its ramifications led to the holocaust.

We’re living in that time again when lies circulate faster than the truth can get its boots on. Would be demigods in Washington, Moscow and Tel Aviv are wreaking havoc and we shall see who writes this history as social media flames consume all before it. Orwell would have appreciated the fact that ‘Free’ Speech now means ‘Hate’ speech in the USA. See X for verification.

To read a history book today it is important to know the agenda of the writer. Quite often opinion is passed off as fact. Unfortunately, we are learning that almost nothing can be trusted.

The History of the World in 50 Lies demonstrates that it is often just one malignant soul seeking revenge for a slight that sets off witch-hunt’s which spiral out of control. See the section on false reporting of the absence of famine in Soviet Russia for prime example.  If you think you know history, this book is an essential tool in scepticism and should be on the curriculum in all schools.

© Sam Hawksmoor – author of J&K Forever and The Repossession of Genie Magee

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