I'm reading this book: "The Ideas Behind Chess Openings".

In the section about the Scotch Game, there's this sequence (purported as the main line)

Read the comment at move 13.

So my quesiton is: If that's correct, why is the exchange sacrifice offered.  And, if it's incorrect, will someone please give me the correct line?

Thanks

Perhaps 11.Qf3 Be7 actually happened (that looks reasonable), and the rest of black's moves in some different order, with Nd1 as a reply to Rb8.

Yeah, I'm going to say that has to be the case.  Probably something more like this:

Yup @ Scarblac & Remludar, as I used to play this variation as Black myself, I can safely say that 11...Be7 or 11...Bd6 are overwhelmingly played. Don't think I ever saw Be6 played on that move. Remludar's is the usual kind of move order you could expect.