"Michael Parenti does battle with a number of Mass-marketed historical myths. He shows how history's victors distort and suppress the documentary record in order to perpetuate their power and privilege. And he demonstrates how historians are influenced by the professional and class environment in which they work." "History as Mystery pursues themes ranging from antiquity to modern times, from the Inquisition and Joan of Arc to the anti-labor bias of present-day history textbooks. Parenti challenges the image of early Christianity as a movement for the poor and a beacon of light in the Dark Ages. He unmasks the Church's support of slavery and serfdom, its suppression of learning and culture, and its oppression of heretics, women, and Jews."--Jacket.