100 Mistakes That Changed History
Table of Contents
5 and 6 - AMBITION AND SUPERSTITION
Chapter 11 - PERSONAL AMBITION
Chapter 12 - PLAYING TO THE ENEMY’S STRENGTHS
Chapter 14 - GOTTA KNOW THE TERRITORY
Chapter 15 - THE HIGH COST OF THE EASIEST WAY
Chapter 16 - ... AND DENARII FOOLISH
Chapter 18 - TAKING THE EASY WAY
Chapter 19 - FIGHT YOUR OWN WARS
Chapter 20 - NOT-SO-FREE-FIRE ZONE
Chapter 21 - HIRING OUT HOME DEFENSE
Chapter 33 - SOME MISTAKES HAVE TURNED OUT WELL
Chapter 35 - BROKE THE RULES ONCE TOO OFTEN
Chapter 37 - JUST INCREDIBLY BAD JUDGMENT
Chapter 39 - ALL COURAGE AND NO PLAN
Chapter 41 - FINANCED HIS OWN WORST NIGHTMARE
Chapter 42 - DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT
45 and 46 - NOT LEARNING FROM HISTORY
Chapter 47 - EGO OVER SURVIVAL
Chapter 48 - PUTTING THE WRONG MAN IN THE WRONG PLACE
Chapter 49 - INVITING IN THE ANGLOS
Chapter 52 - TECH FAILURE AND PANIC
Chapter 53 - GETTING CARRIED AWAY COSTS THE WAR
Chapter 59 - TOO SUCCESSFUL A DEVIOUS PLAN
Chapter 60 - THINKING SHORT TERM
Chapter 61 - RIGHTEOUSNESS OVER REALITY
Chapter 62 - MEANINGLESS GESTURE
Chapter 63 - POLITICAL SCIENCE
Chapter 65 - A SLOB SAVES LIVES
Chapter 70 - DEALING WITH THE DEVIL
Chapter 72 - STOPPING SHORT OF VICTORY
Chapter 74 - BLINDED BY REVENGE
Chapter 76 - IGNORING A WARNING
Chapter 77 - SELF-DEFEATING VICTORY
Chapter 78 - SHORT-RANGE THINKING
Chapter 79 - NOT LEARNING FROM HISTORY
Chapter 80 - OBEYING ORDERS TO A FAULT
Chapter 82 - TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
Chapter 83 - OPINION OVER REALITY
Chapter 84 - THE HIGH PRICE OF RACISM
Chapter 85 - STUCK TO A BAD BARGAIN
Chapter 89 - MYTH OF THE DECISIVE BATTLE
Chapter 90 - MARKETING DISASTER
Chapter 91 - INDECISIVE LEADERSHIP
Chapter 92 - PUT UP WITH THIS MISTAKE
Chapter 94 - INCOMPLETE RESEARCH
Chapter 96 - UNDERESTIMATING EVIL
Chapter 98 - BELIEVING THE WRONG PEOPLE
Chapter 100 - THOSE WHO DO NOT STUDY HISTORY
Most Berkley Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs.
For details, write: Special Markets, The Berkley Publishing Group, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2010 by Bill Fawcett & Associates Inc.
Interior maps provided courtesy of the author. Maps created by James Clouse.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY
®
is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / October 2010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fawcett, Bill. 100 mistakes that changed history : backfires and blunders that collapsed empires, crashed economies, and altered the course of our world / Bill Fawcett.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-101-44367-5
1. History—Miscellanea. 2. History—Errors, inventions, etc. I. Title. II. Title: One hundred mistakes that changed history. D10.F—dc22 2010028546
Thanks to researchers Mari Hillburn and Karen deWinter. And special thanks to Tom Colgan for actually letting me have the fun of writing this book.
But the real dedication has to be to the millions of men, women, children, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and even animals that paid such a high price for the mistakes of others from the beginnings of recorded history. And maybe an apology to those who will come after for the mistakes being made now that they someday will have to pay for.
