The difference Between Fact and Fiction.

For many years, I read and sold many of Brad Meltzer's books as a manager of a Waldenbooks store. I liked him as a writer of top-shelf fiction thrillers. I wish I could say the same about his attempts to tell factual history. The hyperbole and much-ado-about-nothing of "Decoded" was embarrassingly bad. I had hoped "Lost History" would be different. And for a few episodes I thought it was. I'll just cite a couple of issues. One small, one huge.

1. The hammer and sickle inside Oswald's ring was the government inspection hallmark used by the Soviet Union from the late 50's until the collapse of the USSR. It had nothing to do with the KGB or clandestine messages as Brad suggested in the episode, but I suspect he already knew that as a simple internet search turned up that information.

2. Despite what the two Secret Service agents said (and numerous news outlets over the years who seem sadly deficient in the area of fact-checking), FDR never rode in any car owned by Al Capone. And this is not hard to prove. Out of the plethora of video and pictures of FDR in automobiles while he is president, there is not one inch of film or a single photo showing him in a car owned by Al Capone. Capone never owned an armor-plated car after his release from prison, and the Presidential cars used by FDR were far too new to have been confused with the late 20's Caddies known to have been Capone's. Why would Secret Service agents lie about that, you might ask. Why, to sell books of course. Just as people might ignore facts in order to sell a tv show.

Shame on you Brad.



On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?