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A History of Dangerous Assumptions: From the Wooden Horse of Troy to the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century
A compelling historical exploration of the general vulnerability of the human mind to assumption.
The act of assuming—of jumping to conclusions, of lacking sufficient evidence, of taking things for granted—seems to have caused many problems for human civilization. In this book, John Molesworth presents more than two hundred intriguing case studies on the subject of assumption, including some of the most disastrous ever foisted on the human race. Spanning ancient Greece to the present day, Molesworth offers a fascinating new perspective on history. From Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps to Bonaparte’s march on Moscow; from the hubris of Icarus and Phaeton to the toppling towers of the Tay Bridge; from the maddening phantoms of a Northwest Passage to the sinking of the Titanic; from the Schlieffen Plan of World War I to the approach to the D-Day invasion; from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Sherlock Holmes, here lies a highly contrasted trove of stories, episodes, and anecdotes, all with the common link of the mysterious mischief of assumption.
The act of assuming—of jumping to conclusions, of lacking sufficient evidence, of taking things for granted—seems to have caused many problems for human civilization. In this book, John Molesworth presents more than two hundred intriguing case studies on the subject of assumption, including some of the most disastrous ever foisted on the human race. Spanning ancient Greece to the present day, Molesworth offers a fascinating new perspective on history. From Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps to Bonaparte’s march on Moscow; from the hubris of Icarus and Phaeton to the toppling towers of the Tay Bridge; from the maddening phantoms of a Northwest Passage to the sinking of the Titanic; from the Schlieffen Plan of World War I to the approach to the D-Day invasion; from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Sherlock Holmes, here lies a highly contrasted trove of stories, episodes, and anecdotes, all with the common link of the mysterious mischief of assumption.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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April 7, 2022From Greek tragedies to grandiose war plans that fail faltered, Alpine treks that led to lives lost and advice about health that are not so healthy.
Not a page turner for me as my mind gets saturated after a dozen or so of these historical, literary, scientific and leadership mistakes.
It takes effort to go through a few “wong assumptions “ at one sitting . Perhaps some snippets are too brief and could be assuming somewhat.
This book may be used as a starting point to read more about these events .
My favourite section was the five deception manoeuvres that were devised to trick the German command at DDay, Normandy .
Not a page turner for me as my mind gets saturated after a dozen or so of these historical, literary, scientific and leadership mistakes.
It takes effort to go through a few “wong assumptions “ at one sitting . Perhaps some snippets are too brief and could be assuming somewhat.
This book may be used as a starting point to read more about these events .
My favourite section was the five deception manoeuvres that were devised to trick the German command at DDay, Normandy .
December 25, 2024
DNF.
It feels more like insult to the intellect rather than informative description, when someone explains you obvious and very well-know facts and observations. Could not continue with this.
It feels more like insult to the intellect rather than informative description, when someone explains you obvious and very well-know facts and observations. Could not continue with this.
October 30, 2025
Nice short stories, fun at the beginning but it gets a bit repetitive by the end.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews