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Busted! The Real Stories Behind America's Biggest Historical Lies: A Guide to Separating Fact from Fiction in American History
Paperback
19th Century United States HistoryCivil War Period (1850-1877)Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)
Publisher Price: $14.92
Publisher: Douglas Hemme
Published: Sep 2 2025
Pages: 116
Weight: 0.27
Height: 0.24 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
Everything you learned in history class was wrong.
Think George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and couldn't tell a lie? Nope.
Believe Ben Franklin discovered electricity with a kite? Think again.
Sure that Washington was America's first president? Not exactly.
Welcome to the most entertaining history lesson you'll ever get. Busted! takes a wrecking ball to America's most cherished historical myths, revealing the fascinating truth behind the stories we've been telling ourselves for centuries.
Author Donovan Douglas serves up the real stories with wit, irreverence, and just enough snark to keep you turning pages. From the Founding Fathers' fictional heroics to sanitized tales of American exceptionalism, this book exposes how textbook writers turned messy, complicated history into feel-good fairy tales.
You'll discover:
- Why Parson Weems invented the cherry tree story (spoiler: he was trying to sell books)
- How Ben Franklin nearly got himself killed chasing lightning
- Which eight presidents served before Washington (and why nobody talks about them)
- The real stories behind America's most persistent historical lies
This isn't about hating America or tearing down heroes-it's about celebrating the complex, flawed, and genuinely fascinating people who built this country. Because the truth is always more interesting than the myth.
Perfect for history buffs, skeptics, and anyone who suspects their high school textbook might have been full of it.
Finally, someone brave enough to tell us what really happened-and make it fun to read.
History. Without the BS.
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