Crown Publishers

The book of general ignorance.

"We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything." Lloyd and Mitchinson (a producer and writer, respectively, for British television), begin their British bestseller with this quote by Thomas Edison, the non-inventor of the lightbulb according to them. They proceed to clear up 229 other common misconceptions entertainingly but without references. Originally published in Great Britain by Faber and Faber Ltd., London, in 2006. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Ghost Mountain boys; their epic march and the terrifying battle for new New Guinea — the forgotten war of the South Pacific.

One of the world's most inhospitable places, New Guinea also was the stage for one of the fiercest battles of World War II. Campbell's book documents the largely forgotten story of the 32nd Division's Ghost Mountain Boys, who were ordered to march 130 miles over rugged mountains and through disease-ridden jungle inhabited by warlike territorial tribes to protect the Australian army as it fought the Japanese. A history written in narrative style, the book offers a detailed account of the immense hardship and horrible conditions the Ghost Mountain Boys encountered. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Grand theft Jesus; the hijacking of religion in America.

Promising that he will not hesitate to call a spade a spade, McElvaine (history, Millsaps College, Mississippi) gathers into one lively volume accounts of the greed, corruption, scriptural distortion, political opportunism, and other sins committed by people in the US today not only pretending to be Christians but also claiming to speak for Jesus himself. The easy road to heaven, biblical inerrancy once Jesus is purged, unintelligent design, and blaming women are among his areas of investigation. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

How the South could have won the Civil War; the fatal errors that led to Confederate defeat.

Alexander posits the idea that the South could have won the Civil War given some tactical and strategic changes and better communication among the generals, rather than differing views about how to fight the war. He discusses how Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson disagreed on strategy, the turning point battle that was never necessary, how the Confederate army never implemented its strategy to negate the Union's advantages in manpower and weaponry, how Abraham Lincoln saw the Union's problems better than the Confederacy's leaders, and how the South failed to learn from the lessons of its 1863 victory at Chancellorsville. Among the battles examined are those at Fredericksburg, Antietam, Gettsyburg, and Appomattox. Alexander is the author several books on military history, including Lost Victories. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Vienna, 1814; how the conquerors of Napoleon made love, war, and peace at the Congress of Vienna.

King, a Fullbright scholar who taught European history at the U. of Kentucky for many years, has uncovered a wealth of previously uncovered material on the Congress of Vienna, where the borders of Europe were re-drawn after the defeat of Napoleon. King focuses on the larger-than-life personalities who attended the historic conference, which included princes, dukes and tsars. King employs a rich and detailed narrative style that will delight history buffs, especially when it comes to documenting the espionage that remained a secret for almost two centuries. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)