You Did What?: Mad Plans and Great Historical Disasters

Okay, it's not exactly news that Napoleon miscalculated in trying to invade Russia in the dead of winter or that David Caruso hurt his career by leaving NYPD Blue after a mere season and a half. And the authors, publishing veterans, are a bit blithe in describing the battle between Henry VIII and Thomas More as merely a bad personnel decision. (Similarly, poor Anne of Cleves might have felt differently about their saying Henry can't be faulted for their failed marriage.) Complex historical episodes, such as the rise and fall of Robespierre, are reduced to a quick sketch of blunder, and major historical goof-ups are mixed in with more trivial pop-culture tales of woe, such as Garth Brooks's worst-selling album and other actors who, like Caruso, bailed out of a TV ship that, far from sinking, was moving full steam ahead. There's an odd mix here, definitely history very-lite, but perhaps readers who savor schadenfreude will find some satisfaction in it.