| Preface |
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xi | |
| Acknowledgments |
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xiii | |
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Were the Neandertals Our Ancestors? |
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1 | (9) |
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Some see them as brutish and dim-witted, others as our closest relatives. Scientists continue to debate whether modern humans evolved from Neandertals, interbred with them, or wiped them out |
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10 | (8) |
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Credit has gone to Greeks, to Romans, and to Druids, among others. But Stonehenge was built more than a millennium before any of these people reached England. The key to solving the mystery may come from a new look at an old legend about Merlin, the wizard of King Arthur's court |
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Why Did the Pharaohs Build the Pyramids? |
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18 | (8) |
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Most Egyptologists were convinced that they were tombs. The problem was that as explorers and archaeologists entered one pyramid after another, nobody could find any bodies |
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26 | (8) |
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Theseus's greatest deed, according to Greek mythology, was the slaying of the minotaur--a monstrous half man, half bull. Archaeological discoveries in Crete and the deciphering of the ancient Minoans' writing have convinced many that the story was not nearly as fantastic as it once seemed |
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Was There Really a Trojan War? |
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34 | (9) |
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When a German millionaire with a passion for Homer uncovered what he claimed was the legendary city of Troy, historians had to reconsider whether there might also have been a queen named Helen, a hero named Achilles, and perhaps even a giant horse full of soldiers |
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Did Jesus Die on the Cross? |
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43 | (9) |
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To explain Jesus' empty tomb, historians have proposed a variety of theories, among them: that Jesus faked his own death so that he could ``rise'' again; that his body was eaten by dogs; and that the story was devised by one set of his followers to discredit other Christian sects |
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What Were the Nazca Lines? |
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52 | (7) |
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The most notorious explanation for the lines on the Peruvian desert was that they were runways for UFOs. This was recognized as nonsense. But how else could scientists explain markings that can only be made out from the air, yet were drawn thousands of years before men could fly? |
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59 | (8) |
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Until recently historians assumed we could never know where or when or even whether he really lived. Then archaeologists uncovered the remains of what may once have been Camelot |
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Why Did Mayan Civilization Collapse? |
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67 | (8) |
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Their sprawling palaces and dizzying pyramids were engulfed by the Central American jungle long before the Spaniards arrived. Only by deciphering their complex hieroglyphics could linguists reveal what brought an end to the Mayan world |
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Who Built the Statues on Easter Island? |
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75 | (8) |
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To try to prove that Easter Island had been settled by American Indians, a Norwegian scientist determined to travel from Peru to Polynesia--a distance of forty-three hundred miles--by raft |
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What Was Joan of Arc's ``Sign''? |
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83 | (9) |
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The sign Joan showed the crown prince convinced him to entrust his fate--and that of France--to this seventeen-year-old, a peasant with no military experience, and a girl to boot. This same sign convinced the British to burn her at the stake |
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92 | (8) |
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Everyone knows it was Johann Gutenberg. But then why did his partner, Johannes Fust, sue him--and win? And why is it Fust's name that appears on the first printed books? |
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Did Richard III Kill the Princes in the Tower? |
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100 | (8) |
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Was Richard the monstrous villain portrayed by Shakespeare? Did he murder his nephews, the rightful heirs to the throne? To find out, twentieth-century scientists exhumed the princes' skeletons |
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Did Columbus Intend to Discover America? |
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108 | (9) |
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Most historians believe he was searching for a new route to the Far East. An increasing number are convinced that from the start, he was out to discover a New World |
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Did Martin Guerre Return? |
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117 | (9) |
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One of the most celebrated trials of the sixteenth century was that of Guerre, who returned to his tiny village after mysteriously disappearing for eight years. Then another man showed up, also claiming to be the long-lost Guerre |
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Did Mary, Queen of Scots, Murder Her Husband? |
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126 | (8) |
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Three months after the murder of the king, the queen married the prime suspect. Was she an adulterer and a murderer? Or a pawn in a deadly game of politics? |
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Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays? |
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134 | (9) |
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His plays reveal a knowledge of law, classics, and court life that many say no son of a small-town glovemaker could have possessed. Were Shakespeare's plays written by Francis Bacon? Christopher Marlowe? Queen Elizabeth? Or that man from Stratford? |
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Was Captain Kidd a Pirate? |
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143 | (8) |
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He was convicted by a British court, but many have questioned whether he had a fair trial. They've pointed out that Kidd's voyages were sponsored by none other than England's King William, and that critical evidence for his defense conveniently disappeared...only to surface two hundred years after he was hanged |
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151 | (8) |
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Was he done in by Antonio Salieri, a lesser musician jealous of Mozart's genius? Or could it have been the Freemasons, whose secret rituals Mozart had cryptically revealed in The Magic Flute? |
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Why Did Freud Abandon His Seduction Theory? |
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159 | (9) |
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The entire Oedipus complex seemed to be crumbling after the director of the Freud archives argued that Freud was a fraud. The director was fired, but others continued to question whether Freud had told the truth about the origins of psychoanalysis |
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Could the Titanic Have Been Saved? |
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168 | (9) |
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Just miles from the sinking ocean liner sat another ship, whose officers watched the Titanic's distress signals burst in the sky--and then did nothing. Could the Californian have reached the Titanic in time? And why didn't it? |
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Did Any of the Romanovs Survive? |
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177 | (9) |
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DNA tests proved that bones found in a Siberian swamp belonged to Nicholas and Alexandra, and three daughters of the last czar and czarina--all killed by Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution. But the bones of their son and a fourth daughter have not been found |
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Did Hitler Murder His Niece? |
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186 | (9) |
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After Geli Raubal was found dead in Hitler's apartment, shot with his pistol, rumors surfaced that she was not just his niece but his lover. The investigation into her death has led historians into the very dark recesses of Hitler's mind |
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Why Did Hess Ply to Scotland? |
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195 | (8) |
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When the deputy fuhrer parachuted into Scotland right in the middle of the Battle of Britain, both Hitler and Churchill contended it was the act of a lone madman. But many believed there was more to the story |
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Was Gorbachev Part of the August Coup? |
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203 | (10) |
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To Westerners, the aborted right-wing coup of 1991 featured Gorbachev as the innocent victim of devious hard-liners, and Yeltsin as the savior of democracy. Russians have been much more skeptical about the part played by both of the story's heroes |
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| Index |
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213 | |
Other versions by this Author
