History’s Greatest
Scandals: Shocking Stories of Powerful People
Ed Wright, San Diego, California
Pub: Thunder Bay Press
A catalogue of 28 stories of people brought low because they
either thought they were above the law or were so arrogant they flouted it
anyway. It’s interesting that only three
of these were women and begs the question as to why. The easy answer, of course, is that those of
the male sex have generally been the ones to attain power, whilst women have
been more easily preyed upon. The
exceptions quoted are Catherine the Great, quite amazingly accused of sex with
her horse; Imelda Marcos, whose love of shoes is well known; and Therese
Humbert, a con woman of the first degree who created great wealth out of
nothing, except the stupidity of those who believed her without asking to see
the evidence.
The book is divided into six sections, each recognising one
or more of the seven deadly sins.
In fact many of the political scandals occurred in my own
lifetime, but details are easily forgotten when so many people given the trust
of a nation disappoint one, so it was interesting to look back on them and be
reminded how fragile the asserted good intentions of the human race are when it
comes to obtaining and holding power.
There are those, of course, who aver no such good intentions and these
depraved human beings who distort reality deserved the ignominy they received.
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