Prologue

I was sitting in history class one day reading over the text book as the professor was keeping with the text. I was sitting there pulling out my hair over the fact I knew many of the little things in the events of which he spoke. That was the spirit for the book. I wanted to assemble some of the things that I found were omitted in common history text books. I wanted you, the reader, to see that things happened for a reason. For example, Leonidas didn’t “let” the Greek hoplites escape at Thermopylae ; he sent them home to avoid more casualties.

Oftentimes, in history we find that important events, such as World War 2 are given a few measly pages when one could make an entire class only about one year of this gargantuan conflict. For example, while the war in Europe is given a healthy 5 pages, the war in the Pacific is given less then one. Does that mean that the war in the Pacific is any less important? Sure, the Allies agreed, at Potsdam and Yalta , that Germany needed to be eliminated first, but the Japanese fought on, the last “soldiers” surrendered in 1974. However, I relent; the victors write history.

My goal with this book was to inspire a student, an armchair historian, or anyone really to research, get out there and read books. Read anything you can get your hands on, as long as you’re reading. Furthermore, keep Hollywood on a short leash. Boycott movies that use flagrant misinterpretations: “ Troy ” comes to mind.

Therefore, I hope you found this book to be a worthy addition to your library. If not, just give it a read, and see if I talk about some things your history text book does not.