As a society we like to make people into heroes and to admire them. They become beloved figures to whom we look up and encourage people to emulate. The problem with this is that most people are not perfect and that the story we tell about their lives may be simplified or even completely wrong. In Fake Heroes Otto English talks about some of the historical figures whose lives or character may be generally misunderstood or wilfully misrepresented. He shows us why he thinks that the truth matters and draws the attention of the reader to other people who have achieved great things and but have often been overlooked. This book contains passages about Coco Chanel, Henry V, Douglas Bader, Mother Theresa, John Wayne, Captain Scott, Che Guevara, John F Kennedy and Andy Warhol, among others.
I found when reading this book that I had a fair knowledge of the lives of most of the people featured as “fake heroes” and that I hadn’t been admiring them wholeheartedly, as the author suggests. Most of the facts that he presents as generally unknown were, in fact, known to me and I suspect to many others. Nothing of what he said knocked these people off any pedestals for me but it was interesting to read what the author had to say about why we need heroes and how they are created. I also found the lesser-known people included in this book to be interesting as I didn’t know much, or in some cases anything at all, about them.
This is a popular history book and I would suggest that it is aimed at those who aren’t widely read or very knowledgeable about history, or even for those of us with a slight understanding of the lives of the individuals featured. It’s easy to read but I think that if you really want to know more about any of these “heroes” you might want to read a more in-depth biography which will examine their lives in more detail. I did, however, enjoy reading it and especially the author’s insights into why we idolise people.
Anne Is Reading 