Is It True?: The Facts Behind the Things We Have Been Told

In this revealing book, Max Cryer explores the truth or otherwise of facts and beliefs we may have always been told are true, but which on closer examination may not be. In a wide-ranging book encompassing social history, language, music, politics, food, sport, the natural world and much more, we discover the truth behind some of our most cherished beliefs. For example:

Do St Bernard dogs really carry brandy?

Does Santa Claus come from the North Pole?

Did Winston Churchill coin the term ’Iron Curtain’?

’OK’ is an American expression, right?

Tulips come from Holland, don’t they?

Did Sarah Palin say ’I can see Russia from my house?’

Did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone?

Lady Godiva rode naked through Coventry - didn’t she?

Max Cryer is a seasoned author who is incapable of writing a dull word. Always fresh and amusing, he will take you on a journey through your acquired knowledge, testing whether it is really up to scratch.

Max Cryer is a seasoned researcher and writer on aspects of the English language. A well-known broadcaster and entertainer, he hosts a weekly radio slot on the subject. He has had a long and varied career, in which he has been a schoolteacher, a compere and TV host, as well as a singer in London, Las Vegas and Hollywood. Throughout it all his love of language has remained prevalent, and he is now a full-time writer based in New Zealand.