OOPS.
* Reeling from the Black Death, Europe's peasants decide it is cats that are carrying the plague, and start killing them off . . .leading the rat population, which is really spreading the disease, to explode.
* A better society is Prohibition's goal-but the result is robbery and homicide, plus the use of cocaine, marijuana, and opium as substitutes for alcohol.
* Mexico invites Americans to Texas. And the Americans never leave.
* Nixon has a twenty-point lead in the polls. Apparently that's not a comfortable enough margin for those who decide to ensure his success . . .by breaking into the Watergate.
From the Maginot Line to the Bay of Pigs invasion, history is filled with bad moves and not-so-bright ideas that snowballed into disasters and unintended consequences.
This engrossing book looks at one hundred such tipping points. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. Rome farms out its fighting to barbarians. The Aztecs greet the conquistadors with open arms. And the rest is history . . .
100 mistakes that changed history
I picked up 100 mistakes that changed history by Bill Fawcett a few days ago and have not been able to put it down. I highly recommend it for anyone who has an interest in history ancient or modern. As the title says it depicts a hundred events from history where most often a single decision made by a single person has had such a large impact it could have history forever. My favorite passage was where a single roman soldier was possibly responsible for the entire war between the Romans and Goths by firing a single arrow. Well written and researched I cannot wait to pick up the sequel Trust me, I know what I'm doing by the same author. As reviewed by 20AS
QBD Woden, 16/07/2014
