There are at least two sides to every story.
Did Benedict Arnold win the Battle of Saratoga through his heroic charge as some of his supporters believe, or was victory clinched by the number of local militiamen who swarmed to Saratoga to join the American ranks, the leadership of General Gates and the defenses of General Kosciuszko?
Was Douglas MacArthur the hero of the Philippines because he returned as promised to liberate the islands, or did his abandonment of parts of the defensive plan put in place before the war result in a quicker capitulation of Bataan and Corregidor?
Was Robert E. Lee a traitor because he fought for the Confederacy or was he caught in a no win situation—either fight for his country and betray his home State which had seceded from the union, or fight with his home State against his Country?
Was the sinking of the Battleship Maine due to an accidental explosion or an enemy attack?
Did Lee Harvey Oswald shoot JFK or was he just a patsy?
Did General Charles Lee nearly lose the Battle of Monmouth because he called for a retreat when he should have pressed the attack, or was the confused retreat caused when an artillery section pulled back due to lack of ammunition resulting in other sectors mistakenly thinking a retreat had been ordered?
Does the iconic Jersey breakfast sandwich feature pork roll or Taylor Ham?
The nice thing about being a historical novelist is you get to choose which version of the story you’ll use in your book (hopefully with an explanation at the end to let everyone know that your choice is controversial and possibly avoid all those indignant—that’s not the way I learned it—comments).
By the way, I call it pork roll, but you can call it whatever you’d like.
And I’ll leave you with one more question:
Who makes the better Philly Cheesesteak, Pat’s or Geno’s?
Happy reading and writing.
SebastianRizzoBooks 