How the Middle Ages were invented

Why are there so many misconceptions about the past? Roman statues were not white, but colorfully painted and decorated - the white statue is a Renaissance invention. The mortality rate in gladiator fights was surprisingly low. It was not Genghis Khan who attacked Europe and Columbus was not the first European to discover America. The author uses four major themes, plus a few short chapters in between, to not only uncover these misconceptions, but also to examine the mechanisms that allowed them to arise in the first place and how they have persisted.

This is a refreshingly innovative approach and so the book is not just a presentation of popular misconceptions, as they have been in vogue for some time, but also pursues its own goal: in dialog with the reader, the critical reception of every historical "truth" is called for - and practically along the way, an elaborately researched set of facts is passed on.