The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously

Sometimes the truth hurts. Facts can be inconvenient, disappointing, or even disturbing, but they can't be changed simply because we want them to be. THE AWFUL TRUTHS takes a look at some longheld beliefs that are not true, and tells us what really happened. Each truth will be put into context and backed up with fascinating evidence that skillfully explains how and where our misconceptions originated. The author will draw from the worlds of history, sports, entertainment and politics, with the truth behind Mickey Mantle, Jimi Hendrix, The Godfather, and even St. Patrick. Who was Mario Puzo's model for the Don Corleone character in The Godfather? Was it Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno? The infamous Salvatore Marranzo? No.....it was Puzo's mother! Senator Joe McCarthy was responsible for the infamous "Hollywood Blacklist," right? Well, actually...no, he had nothing to do with it. Surprising and engaging, THE AWFUL TRUTHS caters to our "reality show" culture, but delivers substance instead of dirt about lives and events that impact who we are today. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, but that doesn't mean that they are entitled to their own factsan awful truth that can't be ignored.

Introduction	1	(4)
Saint Patrick wasn't even born in Ireland	5	(2)
"A Nation Once Again"...er...for the first time	7	(3)
Shakespeare—great playwright, lousy historian	10	(4)
Nathan Hale—terrorist of the attack on New York, 9/21	14	(5)
At least three U.S. presidents had to be bailed out financially after leaving office	19	(4)
Thomas Jefferson, active slave owner	23	(4)
So then what about that master/slave thing he had with Sally Herrings?	27	(2)
The Alamo was not necessarily a heroic last stand	29	(3)
But Davy Crockett was still a hero and one of the last men standing there, right?	32	(5)
Lee was not first in his class, and Grant was not last	37	(3)
The Emancipation Proclamation didn't free all the slaves	40	(3)
Abner Doubleday was probably not the Father of Baseball	43	(4)
Baseball's birthplace was probably not Cooperstown, New York	47	(3)
Edward Bulwer-Lytton of "It was a dark and stormy night" fame was the bestselling novelist of his time	50	(3)
The Democratic Party was the party of segregation	53	(5)
Lizzie Borden was found innocent	58	(4)
"Under God" has not always been in the Pledge of Allegiance	62	(4)
Harry Frazee actually came out ahead on the Babe Ruth deal	66	(3)
Al Capone was a convicted felon prior to his arrest for income tax evasion	69	(4)
FDR committed numerous impeachable offenses	73	(7)
The creation of Batman was not a solo project, no matter what the credit line says	80	(5)
The Birdman of Alcatraz never kept birds at Alcatraz	85	(3)
No one ever expected Casablanca to become a classic	88	(4)
It's a Wonderful Life was an initial disappointment	92	(2)
Fidel Castro was never scouted by any major U.S. baseball team	94	(4)
The Great Escape was really not so great	98	(5)
DiMaggio: Not as humble as we thought	103	(3)
Mickey Mantle lived like there was no tomorrow...because he believed there wasn't for him	106	(3)
Senator Joseph McCarthy had nothing to do with the Hollywood blacklist	109	(5)
Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthy's right-hand man, was gay	114	(4)
The Mertzes hated each other	118	(5)
The father and daughter of Father Knows Best didn't know best	123	(3)
John Wayne never served in the armed forces	126	(5)
The"silent partners" at the Academy Awards	131	(3)
There really were female astronauts in the 1960's	134	(4)
Vietnam was JFK's war	138	(6)
Johnny Cash never went to prison as an inmate	144	(3)
Richard Burton never won an Academy Award	147	(3)
Russ Meyer's award-winning film work	150	(3)
Vince Lombardi did not go out as a winner	153	(5)
Packers shares are only ceremonial	158	(4)
Chuck Berry's only #1 hit was "My Ding-a-Ling"	162	(3)
'Twas sex that saved the Star Trek franchise (and Star Trek and Baywatch have more in common than you might think)	165	(4)
Jimi Hendrix was a former U.S. Army airborne paratrooper	169	(4)
Mario Puzo had no mob ties prior to publishing The Godfather	173	(3)
Charles Manson did not personally take part in the Helter-Skelter slaughter	176	(4)
Elvis Presley was profoundly antidrugs	180	(3)
Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs: A true battle of the sexes?	183	(4)
All in the Family's ancestry	187	(3)
Sacheen Littlefeather: Acting "stand-in"for Brando	190	(3)
George Lucas's lifetime achievement	193	(4)
Oliver Stone's horror debut	197	(4)
Gene Simmons of KISS fame was a teenage geek	201	(3)
The "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" misnomer	204	(3)
Patrick O'Brian—the Irish seafaring author who wasn't	207	(4)
The inauspicious beginnings of Seinfeld	211	(3)
Stephen Ambrose and his war-hero dove	214	(3)
GOP as Big Government party	217	(6)
Hip, off the hook...and based on a classic that's older than your parents	223	(3)
Joe Torre's less-than-enthusiastic New York reception	226	(3)
J.R.R. Tolkien did not invent Middle-Earth	229	(4)
Pre-9/11 Giuliani more reviled than admired	233	(3)
Actors acting American	236	(2)
The skeletons in the closet that the Academy overlooks	238	(3)
Despite what critics say, the Bush administration did learn a lesson from the war in Iraq	241

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The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked

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