>I was a double major, English Lit. & History, in school so my take on
history is often colored by my literary interpretations of events and vice
versa. To me, the best Lit has historical or real world significance, and
>the best history is a really good read. I think it's important, however,
not to confuse the two. Literature is not meant to be factual and history
is not supposed to be invented. Sometimes literature has a factual
>basis, and sometimes historians inject dialogue and narrative into their
work that is their own interpretation of the facts. These things are done,
however, for thematic reasons and a good writer would never tell you that
>he was telling "the real story" any more than a good historian would tell
you that his narrative/dialogue were the absolute facts.

I think you should read H.G. Wells' "The Outline of History"...it is history
written by someone who can write...