Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America

by Glenn Beck

Please Note This Item is Currently Sold Out HISTORY AS IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE TOLD: TRUE AND THRILLING. Thomas Edison was a bad guy— and bad guys usually lose in the end. World War II radio host “Tokyo Rose” was branded as a traitor by the U.S. government and served time in prison. In reality, she was a hero to many. Twenty U.S. soldiers received medals of honor at the Battle of Wounded Knee—yet this wasn’t a battle at all; it was a massacre. Paul Revere’s midnight ride was nothing compared to the ride made by a guy named Jack whom you’ve probably never heard of.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Historical, Politics, Audiobook, Biography

290 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2013

About the author

Glenn Edward Lee Beck is one of America's leading radio and television personalities. His quick wit, candid opinions and engaging personality have made The Glenn Beck Program the third highest rated radio program in America and Glenn Beck, one of the most successful new shows on the Fox News Channel. His unique blend of modern-day storytelling and insightful views on current events allowed him to achieve the extraordinary feat of having #1 New York Times bestsellers in both fiction and non-fiction. Beck also stars in a live stage show and is the publisher of Fusion magazine.

Online, he is the editor of GlennBeck.com and the publisher of TheBlaze.com.

Beck is the author of six consecutive #1 New York Times Bestsellers including his latest book, the thriller The Overton Window. When The Christmas Sweater, his first novel, debuted at #1 on the fiction list, Beck became one of a handful of authors to write books that reached #1 on both the fiction and non-fiction NYT lists.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute fictional drivel. To be fair, I've only read portions of the section on Wounded Knee, but enough to note that Glen Beck, whom I enjoy as a radio commentator, took huge license in drafting a fictional version of events surrounding Wounded Knee, quoting conversations for which there are no records, or which likely never occurred. Although my thesis is listed as one of Beck's sources, I doubt he ever read it. He makes sweeping generalizations, and reorders events or facts to suit the narrative he wished to depict, despite a well documented historical record.

One such example was a conversation that Major General Nelson A. Miles, Commander of the Division of the Missouri, has with Major S. M. Whitside, 7th U.S. Cavalry, on 6 January 1891 in which he confronts the major with several newspaper and magazine articles. While Whitside does document that he was summoned by Miles, there is no record of what the conversation entailed. Further, at least one of the articles that Beck quotes Miles as complaining of was not released until the end of January.

A second Miles conversation that Beck quotes entails medals of honor. It is absolute fiction. Beck indicates that Miles was presented with at least a dozen medal of honor recommendations in June 1891, and ranted that he was furious that so many medals were being awarded. Allegedly stating that it was the greatest number of medals of honor for a single engagement. By June 1891, 17 soldiers from the Pine Ridge campaign had already received their medals, including 12 from action at Wounded Knee, all with General Miles's concurrence. There was no stack of medal of honor recommendations forwarded to General Miles in June 1891. The event never happened.

Further, Wounded Knee, was not the single greatest number of Medals of Honor for a single engagement during the Indian Wars period, and Miles would have known that. To demonstrate that 30 Medals of Honor awarded during the Pine Ridge 1890-91 Campaign--18 for Wounded Knee--was not an anomaly, I offer the following statistics:

● 81 awarded for the Little Big Horn 1876-77 Campaign
● 27 awarded for the Apaches 1873, 1885-86 Campaign
● 18 awarded for the Nez Perce 1877 Campaign
● 12 awarded for the Ute 1879-80 Campaign
● 177 awarded for actions not covered under an Army campaign streamer including:
● 49 awarded for actions against Apaches in 1868
● 53 awarded for actions against Apaches in 1869

For numbers of medals awarded for single actions:

● 34 awarded to the 8th Cav Regt for Aug 1868 actions against Apaches
● 31 awarded to 1st and 8th Cav Regt for action on 10 Oct 1869 against Apaches
● 31 awarded to 5th and 22nd Infantry Regts for action on 21 Oct 1876 at Cedar Creek, Mont. Ter. (under Nelson Miles' command)
● 24 awarded to 7th Cav Regt for actions on 25 Jun 1876 at the Little Big Horn, specifically Reno Hill
● 20 awarded to 1st and 5th Cav Regts for actions in 1872 against Apaches
● 18 awarded to 7th Cav and 1st Art Regt for action on 29 Dec 1890 at Wounded Knee
● 13 awarded to 6th Cav Regt for action on 12 Jul 1870 at Wichita River, Tex.
● 12 awarded to 5th Inf and 6th Cav Regts for action on 9 Sep 1874 at Upper Wichita River, Tex. (under Nelson Miles' command)
● 10 awarded to 5th and 9th Cav Regts for action on 29 Sep 1879 at Milk River, Colo.

Nelson Miles's fingerprints are on more medals of honor from the Indian Wars era than perhaps any other officer from that period. Moreover, he personally headed up the 1916-'17 review of every medal of honor, in which over 900 were revoked, and still he sanctioned the Wounded Knee medals. The only documented record of Miles commenting unfavorably on recommendations was regarding honorable mention and recommendations for brevet promotions for Colonel J. W. Forsyth and Major S. M. Whitside, the two field grade officers of the 7th Cavalry at the battle of Wounded Knee. In that same document, he praises the actions of several company grade officers.

As a historical work of non-fiction, Glen Beck's Miracles and Massacres is little more than hysterical fiction--at least concerning the Wounded Knee portion--taking an actual event and spinning it into a narrative that he presents as history. Beck assumes his readers will have only a nominal understanding of Wounded Knee, likely formed from Hollywood depictions of the event, and that the reader will accept whatever he presents as being historically accurate. Sadly, that is probably true in many cases, and depending on the volume of sales of this novel, he has led tens of thousands of readers to believe they understand the events surrounding Wounded Knee based on this concocted fiction he has peddled them.

For a historically accurate and balanced view of Wounded Knee, I recommend Jerome Greene's American Carnage.


Army at Wounded Knee

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever you think about Glenn Beck’s politics and commentary, he has become a decent historian. In Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America, he tells twelve stories on historical events in America. Some stories are inspiring, some are terrible, most will be unknown to the vast majority of Americans. All of the stories are entertaining and worth reading. None reflect a political bias. I bounced between 3 and 5—settling on a 4 Star rating.

The good: Beck writes at a level for the casual reader or perhaps a young reader. He keeps the story moving quickly and does not get bogged down on names and dates. Probably a good technique for the texting, tweeting, facebooking generation. You have to grab their attention quickly and move the action along. Beck does not sugarcoat the disgraceful episodes and he does not over-glamorize the inspiring, heroic stories. Beck also documents his stories with citations at the back of the book.

The bad: Beck writes at a level for the casual reader or perhaps a young reader—which is not detailed enough for me. I still enjoyed the stories and the stories piqued my interest in further study. I was surprised at how often Mr. Beck uses imagined conversations and speculation about what a person is contemplating, thinking, etc. (He points this out in the citation section at the end.) This makes the story more interesting at the expense of authenticity. Beck is an advocate of adhering to original sources and these modern additions do give me pause. Finally, a technique he occasionally uses is to jump back in time after setting up an initial scene. I didn’t particularly care for that.

1. Jack Jouett: The Ride That Saved America: The Brits try a lightning raid to capture key leaders of the Revolution. They are foiled…just barely.

2. Shays’ Rebellion: A Loud and Solemn Lesson: I was mostly fascinated at the picture of the Massachusetts citizenry of 1785; how feisty and independent they were. (Whatever happened to that state?)

3. The Virginia Convention: Compromising for the Constitution: Should the new Constitution be ratified before the “Bill of Rights” was included? A very interesting argument.

4. The Barbary War: A Steep Price for Peace: An interesting story if you don’t know much about the early history of the US Navy and Marines. This story had too much “imagined conversation” for my taste but I am quite familiar with the entire episode.

5. Edison vs. Westinghouse: An Epic Struggle for Power: This story affects everyone of us in our daily lives to this day. Excellent story.

6. The Battle of Wounded Knee: Medals of Dishonor: Everyone should read this tragic tale. Rescinding the medals awarded for this massacre awaits a president with guts.

7. Easy Eddie & the Hard Road to Redemption: What sets America apart…the son (or daughter) can rise above the sins of the father. I guarantee you will enjoy this story.

8. The Saboteurs: In a Time of War, the Laws Are Silent: Interesting story about the German Saboteurs, Roosevelt, the "Supremes", and a connection to 9/11.

9. Who Is Tokyo Rose? : Both sad and inspiring, Truman was not quite the stand-up guy we like to think, slimy news correspondents abound and a lawyer in a fight between his duty and his conscience.

10. The Battle of Athens: Repeated Petitions, Repeated Injuries: I was familiar with the story and Beck could have spent more time on this one.

11. The My Lai Massacre: A Light in the Darkness: Must read for everyone, truth must win—and usually does eventually.

12. The Missing 9/11 Terrorist: The Power of Everyday Heroes: United 93 was the only plane that had 4 instead of 5 terrorists on board. This is the story of the missing one, and the link to UBL.

[Christina DeVane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I think every American should read this book! 12 different stories are told in fictionalized form in the way of dialogue, but all the facts are true! I learned SO many neat nuggets of history and read sad stories from a different perspective. Our government has never been perfect and sometimes people have been treated very unfairly. But we’re supposed to LEARN from history, right? And every citizen should do their part in making America a better place not just criticizing every elected official. (Although most give you plenty to be frustrated about.😉)
I loved the section at the end which gives a partial catechism of the Constitution written in the early 1800s. Wow. I have so much appreciation for how our government was set up! We are a VERY blessed people! Disclaimer: There is some language especially in chapters involving war stories.
An absolute must read for any lover of history!🤓❤️

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

More poorly novelized history from Glenn Beck. But what really sets this book apart from stuff like BEING GEORGE WASHINGTON and KILLING LINCOLN/KENNEDY/JESUS is that MIRACLES AND MASSACRES tackles several different historical events and reads like a short story collection rather than a novel. The stories mostly come across as being horribly structured and inexpertly written, but they do manage to be relatively entertaining while simultaneously relaying information about fascinating historical events that non-historians like me are probably largely unaware of. What makes it a much better book than BEING GEORGE WASHINGTON is that, here, Beck demonstrates a greater willingness to explore the dark side of American history while also mostly refraining from beating readers over the head with the lessons he wishes to impart. Not that his messages here are subtle, but at least he never stops the book to come right out and tell us what they are.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not typical Glenn Beck stuff. It was a fascinating look at twelve historical events from a fresh perspective. It reads like fiction, but is historical.

Beck clearly notes the places where dialogue is imagined and clearly states that none of the imagined dialogue contradicts known facts.

This book was eye-opening in many ways. Some of the stories I knew, some I was completely unaware of.

If you enjoy history, or enjoy a good thriller and don't mind learning a few things along the way, this book is for you.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have any interest at all in American history you must try this one. Beck takes thirteen historical incidents and tells you about them in a novel like manner which makes them much more interesting than a history text book. He also gives you facts and insights that you didn't get in school. These are stories from as far back as the Revolutionary War to the Barbary Coast, to Edison vs. Westinghouse, The Battle of Wounded Knee, Who is Tokyo Rose and others. Try it; you will like it.

[AJourneyWithoutMap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America by Glenn Beck is a retelling of known and little-known stories of history as we have never heard before. It is a gigantic project undertaken by the #1 bestselling author with Kevin Balfe and Hannah Beck, along with writers James Best, Jack Henderson, David Pietrusza, Anthony J. Tata, and Jason Wright. Keith Malinak, Kevin Smith, and Martha Weeks are the other contributors, researchers and editors of this book.

The book is a compilation of twelve life-changing events in the history of United States of America, written in a remarkably wonderful way that is both truthful and thrilling. The stories are not only true stories, but amazing and unique stories, stories that are meant to captivate the heart, uplift and educate.

The first story in Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America is entitled Jack Jouett: The Ride That Saved America. It is a story that starts in June 3, 1781. The last story in the book is The Missing 9/11 Terrorist: The Power of Everyday Heroes, a story we all thought we knew so well, a story that happened on September 11, 2001. But you’ll be surprised.

Other thrilling, inspiring and informative chapters include Shay’s Rebellion: A Loud and Solemn Lesson, The Virginia Convention: Compromising for the Constitution, The Barbary War: A Steep Price for Peace, Edison vs Westinghouse: An Epic Struggle for Power, The Battle of Wounded Knee: Medals of Dishonor, Easy Eddie & the Hard Road to Redemption, The Saboteurs: In a Time of War, the Laws are Silent, Who is Tokyo Rose?, The Battle of Athens: Repeated Petitions, Repeated Injuries, and The My Lai Massacre: A Light in the Darkness.

In his inimitable style, Glenn Beck writes that all the stories can be put into one of three categories: “The good guys win; the good guys win, but it takes a while; or the good guys lose because people put their trust into politicians instead of each other.”

It is a compelling read not exactly intended to shock and awe you, but to show the essence of the American way of life.

[Sherri Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered about unsung American Heroes? Well this book tells you about a few. I learned about the US Navy and why Marines are leathernecks, and what "from the shores of Tripoli" is derived from. I learned about the Southern Paul Revere in Virginia and many other historical facts not taught in school that a history buff enjoys learning. Super book if you want a quick read that is interesting and if you are a history nerd this book is for you.

[Sher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Beck has hit on a winning format for teaching the lessons of history. This book is highly enjoyable and informative. Although it took me a little while to get caught up in it, I ended up really looking forward to the next installment each time. This would be a good book to read with a child.

[Lucas Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is crucial to understand our history and Glenn Beck does a great job of making it leap right off the page and helping the reader understand such events as the Virginia Constitutional Convention, the Battle of Wounded Knee, and how every day Americans can make a difference. This is a book I would highly recommend for anyone who enjoys history, regardless of politics.

[Darcy Shetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[T. Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by being upfront about the fact that I listen to Glenn Beck on the radio on a daily basis. As a result, I am predisposed to liking his books because we tend to share a similar outlook on today's political environment and share a similar overall ideology. (Yes: I'm a Conservative. No secret there - I authored a book entitled "Self Evident: A Study of American Conservatism" (Available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com for the low, low price of just $2.99!).

That said, I couldn't give this particular book more than three stars. Let's start with the positive stuff:

1) The "Fictionalized" format tells these stories in a creative, thought-provoking manner that helps to make them come alive to the reader. (As a "History M&M" myself, that's the way I like my history: ALIVE and entertaining instead of just focusing on the names and dates.)

2) The stories told do not simply focus on the positive aspects of US History, but also some of the worst atrocities that have been committed by our Nation. It's not just "Pro-American Propaganda," but a legitimate look at the very HUMAN nature of our country. That's a pretty risky move, in my opinion, and well played.

3) The fact that the stories themselves can be (and are) backed up by academically-recognized sources helps to dispel arguments that the stories are "made up" or "inaccurate." Beck (and his co-authors) have admitted to the fictionalization and the purposes for it. There are admitted changes to quotes and an explanation as to why they have been altered (most commonly for the sake of clarity when writing about individuals from over 200 years ago whose language was significantly different from modern-day English).

These are the reasons that I have given three stars to this particular book. Now here's why I couldn't give it more:

1) The writing style was inconsistent and choppy, making it difficult to read at times. This may seem like a semantic and objective criticism, and it is, but it significantly impacted on my enjoyment of the reading. This can be attributed to the fact that it was not the work of a single author, but, rather, of a team of writers. Which leads me to Item #2.

2) I really don't like books that are written by multiple authors, but cash in on the name recognition of the "lead" author and leave the other contributors relegated to footnote status. Don't misunderstand me: I get it. It's a good marketing tool, but, as an author myself, I take umbrage with the technique. How much of it was actually written by Glenn Beck (if any) is unclear. I don't doubt that he had a hand in its production, even if it was just him saying, "I want you to tell the story of Iva Toguri," and then walking away, but the implication on the cover is that he wrote it himself. That's not the case, and it is evident in the writing style (See #1).

3) I think it was a great idea, but the last chapters seemed to lose focus and, with it, purpose. Granted, the final chapter deals with the events of September 11th, the 20th hijacker, and the death of Usama bin Laden, so it lacked the perspective of time necessary to fully realize the ultimate influence of those events, but the feeling that I got was that somebody said, "Well, since we're calling it 'Miracles and Massacres,' I guess we're going to have to throw in a chapter about September 11." I'm not saying it wasn't an interesting tale, but it lacked a clear point and resolution. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this was true of the last three chapters.

So I gave it three out of five stars. I would strongly suggest that the stories relating to the forgotten ride of Jack Jouett, the massacre at Wounded Knee, and the persecution of Iva "Tokyo Rose" Toguri should become required reading for Middle and High School students throughout the country, but it's just not enough to earn four (or more) stars in my opinion. Sorry, Glenn: that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

[Ethan Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was facinating. It's not a simple read, though. The stories, which I believe is always a better way to teach history, are extremely in-depth. I found it difficult to stop halfway through a chapter because when I came back I had trouble remembering all the people involved. And the chapters are fairly long. So, I would read this book only when I had a good block of ininterrupted time available. Which is why it took me so long to finish.

That being said, it's a great book. It's a really good reminder to see the true tales of heroes forgotten and see their consequnces still today, like with O'Hare Airport's namesake; but it's equally good to see America's ultimate failures, whether it be from the time of founding or Vietnam. The massacres we covered up, the battles we truly lost, remind us we're not in anyway perfect. But the heroic good deeds that saved lives from a handful to thousands also reminds us America is special and has a lot to offer the world. It's a reminder sorely needed nowadays when things look so muddled and bleak. It a sense of humility mixed with pride.

This is good history, told well. Everyone should know these stories.

[Tom Lange · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much loved Beck's other narrative collection of history stories called Dreamers and Deceivers so I was excited to get into this like minded work. It was not a bad read by any means, but in comparison it just was not as interesting. It actually took me a long period of time that I kept pushing it aside to read other things. It just did not hook me at all as the other title did. My guess for this is that this book is much darker (understandable as it is about massacres) and also because the selected events are mostly better known to the general public so there seems to be fewer suprises. None of this makes the book a bad book however. It does what it sets out to do and educate the reader on events they should have much better knowledge about and typically do not. I hope Glenn Beck continues these non-political historical works.

[E.josiah Luebben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be sure to check the notes in the back as a lot of stuff was imagined based on how they interpreted their research. So the end product is more "based on a true story" historical fiction than accurate history.

But I liked the collection of stories. Most of them I hardly knew, or knew nothing, of. Didn't care for the way it was written, though I appreciate the attempt at putting history in an easy to read form. All in all it was entertaining and informative. I've gone looking for in-depth books on a few of the stories as a result of having read this. So that's a win to me.

[Mark Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read!!

A great book for people of faith to read!! Thankfully, God still governs in the affairs of man and this nation!!

[Jacey Hougaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miracles and Massacres by Glen Beck is a nonfiction book that contains 12 thrilling stories from America’s past. Beck and some other co-authors set up these stories in a more familiar way to most of his readers, the way he believes that history is supposed to be remembered. There are heroes, villains, the plot moves quickly and keeps out unnecessary details such as dates. Without these changes, I do not think that I would have been able to enjoy the book as much. I dislike reading the usual nonfiction books because they always feel slow, and there isn’t enough action or anything “worth” reading. This book, however, is constructed closer to what a fiction story would be like, but each story actually happened. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars, I enjoyed the book, and if I ever get bored enough, I may go back and read it again.

[KatelynBuffington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing to read because there were so many stories that I have never heard before. And some that I have heard before, but gained new information of. It made me want to look up and learn more about history. This book is filled with people´s stories that we are never able to hear in history class. It´s nice to get extra insight into history because it makes it not seem as much as there is a good side and a bad side. Everyone has good and bad and the line between the two is very thin. My favorite story in this was the Battle of Athens. I just like the detail in all the stories. It makes the unknown stories even more interesting to read about.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Half of the stories were extremely interesting/engaging, while with a few I struggled to stay awake. I was inspired by individuals(most unfamiliar to me) that fought for truth and freedom despite being in the minority and often facing persecution.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something to be learned

They were many stories in this book I had never heard before; some made me proud to be an American, some made my jaw drop

In every story, something can be learned to make our country better in the future.

[Craig Patton · Rating 3 out of 5]

AS someone who has a deep passion for history, especially the nuances that have helped to created the world that exists today, this is the premise of Glenn Beck's Miracles and Massacres. The little and often over looked things that have been pivotal in shaping the United States of America.

Many of the stories are interesting and offer a wide swath of historical people and events that are rarely, if ever, discussed in high school or college history classes. Most of stories contained I had read or heard about in the past so for me, there was very little that was new. For those things that were new, I would not have read about them otherwise as they were about people or events that do not, for me, personally hold that much interest.

The main problem I do have with the book is that events and stories are offered in what I consider to be in a cliff-books style offering little, actual background save for a few stories in which it was absolutely pertinent. Another problem is the style in which the stories are formatted as they read more like a work of fiction. While this format I think works well for those who generally do not read about history, I do not believe it works well for those who do.

I also did not like how the thoughts of the historical figures were presented as if it was historically accurate. While I will admit that many of these people did keep diaries and did indeed write down their thoughts, I do not believe this was the case here, I believe a little creative writing may have been involved and should have been disclosed as such.

My final problem is the right versus wrong, good versus evil way in which many of the historical figures are painted. It as if Glenn Beck has taken it upon himself to pass his ideals of moral judgment or what he perceives to be a patriotic American and has projected this upon them. Life and events are not that black and white, the majority of what we and these historical figures live through fall within the gray areas of life.

The problems with this book aside, it is still an interesting read and many compel the reader to do their research on the historical events and people presented within it's pages.

[Jaegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is so often lost or forgotten, either intentionally or not, and we lose a piece of the story that makes us who we are. America is a country made up of periods of greatness and times of weakness. We have brilliant successes and terrible atrocities, but that is what makes us who we are. To forget or ignore this fact will lead to committing the same mistakes we have made in the past or lead us away from the core principles that have made our nation great. Miracles and Massacres is a wonderful, engaging book of forgotten or little known stories of great importance to our American story. Some make you proud, some ashamed, but they each teach a lesson on America's history. And that is something we desperately need more of in our America today.

[Hlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to read about some history in not your typical high-school, boring ass manner. It's always good to stretch those brain cells a bit and read about stuff you really didn't pay attention to in school. I think certain topics don't really resonate with most of us until we get to be older, and we learn to appreciate what our forefathers went through. This statement in the book speaks volumes. "A country that does not learn from its history is doomed to repeat it."

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several dramatized stories from American history, told as if short stories of historical fiction. Interesting. I liked the stories best that I didn't already have some knowledge of. For the stories I was familiar with I was disappointed by how much he left out, but he was trying to keep his stories short. I enjoyed that his stories covered time from the Revolutionary War to 9-11.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to on CD. Great stories, highly recommend!

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is essentially a collection of little-known historical vignettes that either were instrumental in the forward progress of the nation or spotlighted villains. One chapter looks at the supposed villainous state of an historical character and questions whether she deserves the classification of villain. Beck deliberately chose stories most of us know little or nothing about. But many of these stories were instrumental in building or saving the United States.

Beck dedicates the first chapter to a little-known all-night ride by Jack Jouett, a patriot who got word that British soldiers under Colonel Tarleton desired to destroy Thomas Jefferson’s home and property. No big deal to anyone but poor old Tom, you might argue, except it was a big deal. Jouett’s successful mission saved Jefferson’s life and enabled him and those gathered with him to protect papers and fiscal assets that would be crucial to the formation of the nation.

Chapter two looks at the Shays’ Rebellion and explains why that should still matter centuries later.

Other chapters look at the importance of the Virginia compromise that resulted in much of what became the constitution. I learned much about the nation’s first war after independence with the Barbery pirates. I was unaware that enemy combatants held some 300 Americans hostage.

As for the nation’s villains, Beck counts Edison on that list. There’s a full chapter on the fierce battles between Edison and Tesla over whether direct or alternating current should be the national standard. There’s a chapter dedicated to the horrors of the battle at Wounded Knee. The injustice done to native Americans there remain unresolved.

There’s a chapter about a Chicago gangster whose navy pilot sun went on to be a World War II aviation hero. That was a fascinating chapter.

My absolute favorite chapter was the one that focused on Tokyo Rose, a propaganda broadcaster for the Japanese government during the war. I had no idea how tragic her story was. This is a young woman whom the Japanese government trapped after Pearl Harbor and refused to allow her to return to the U.S. Throughout my life, I thought of this woman as someone who did horrible things to demoralize people like my dad listening from his battleship. Beck clearly demonstrates her innocence in this chapter, and I understand as never before why President Ford pardoned her fully in 1977. That chapter fascinated me and disintegrated the historic myths.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of 12 stories, each one based on true events from US history.

This book does very effectively what it sets out to do. The negative reviews seem to have in common that they've misunderstood the purpose of the book, despite it being explained in the author's note at the beginning. This book exists not to examine every detail of a historical event, but rather, to make history more easily understandable and accessible.

This should not be read as if it's a textbook or a deep dive- rather, it should be read in the same way that you would watch something like Hamilton or United 93- it intends to convey the ESSENCE of what happened more than anything else.

600-page books that describe every aspect of some historical event are great- it's good that such works exist. But they're not really understandable by the average Joe. This book does its best to fix that and make it more clear in a way that the average reader can understand and find interesting.

The methods used are explained at the end. One example is from chapter 1, where a conversation is filled in between Jack Jouett and Thomas Jefferson- regarding this conversation, we are told the following:

"The scene in which Jouett arrives at Monticello is factual, but the dialogue is fictional. There is no record of what he actually said to Jefferson, but the imagined dialogue is supported by reports of how Jefferson reacted."

In this way, the story maintains its flow, but doesn't pretend that nothing was added or imagined. For those who want more details, sources are provided at the end. For those who are new to history and are unfamiliar with these stories, this book is an excellent introduction to help you understand "the gist of what happened."

There are multiple places throughout where the writing is somewhat awkward, but it was never so bad that it couldn't be ignored. I have removed one star for this reason.

Overall, I recommend this book especially to those who would like to learn more about history, but are feeling overwhelmed about where to start. This book will help you learn which stories interest you the most, at which point you will be able to look into them more deeply if you so desire.

[Miles Nilsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1CMiracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America, 1D Glenn Beck* means to create, not a scholarly work, but a popular one. The book is a good read and is genuinely informative despite its novel-like style. (To say that most of this book is written at a sixth grade reading level is not a criticism; indeed, education has become so bad in this country that if only more people could RISE to a sixth grade reading level it would be an improvement.)

The book presents twelve different stories from different periods in American history. (Only chapters two and three are at all related.) Each story has been treated before by scholars (so they are not actually 1Cuntold 1D), but each is rarely found in popular history books, and these twelve stories have not previously been gathered together in one book.

The question the reader will have to decide for himself is whether there is anything that these stories share in common. By his chosen title, Beck seems to be criticizing both those who say that the history of the United States is one of unremitting good and those who say it is one of unremitting evil; rather, Beck counters, it is both. The stories include at least two genuine massacres. At Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota in 1890, federal troops massacred defenseless Native Americans. To add sham to horror, several of these mass murderers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The other certified massacre is the My Lai Massacre which occurred during the Vietnam War where some American servicemen murdered defenseless Vietnamese peasants. In the My Lai case, the perpetrators were eventually brought to justice. Not so in the earlier Wounded Knee case.

After reading nine chapters, I have found merit in most of these stories. My favorite, so far, is the seventh story, "Easy Eddie and the Road to Redemption." The title is unpromising, but the saga of a father and son, one a mob lawyer, the other a war hero, is compelling. The most disappointing story, so far, is the third one about the Virginia Convention that ratified the Constitution. The actual points of contention between the federalists and anti-federalist are glossed over and the focus, instead, is on the politics of personalities.

Perhaps it is not so much that each story shows either a miracle or a massacre, but that both good and evil is present in each story. For example, the twentieth century story of the Battle of Athens (Tennessee) tells of a corrupt local political machine 14an all too common part of American politics 14but it also shows how good men rose up and triumphed over it. These stories might help us put a finger on how the American people have done well to listen to their better angels and badly to give in to cynicism and despair.

I have personal connections to the first two stories in this book. Story number one is about Jack Jouett who lived in central Virginia during the American Revolution. His midnight ride in 1781 was both more exciting and possibly more significant than the more famous and earlier ride of Paul Revere. Jouett 19s ride took him to the home of Thomas Jefferson to warn him of the approach of the British who intended to arrest Jefferson. Jouett also rode into Charlottesville, where I currently dwell, to warn other patriots of the British approach. I did know about this story because I live where it happened, but I learned from Beck 19s account many details that I did not previously know.

The next story also touched me with its familiar geographical references. I grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, and had heard of Shays 19 Rebellion. There was a mural depicting the revolt in the court house in Worcester, but, again, I learned from Beck 19s account many details that I did not know. Shays 19 Rebellion was a revolt by Revolutionary War veterans in Massachusetts less than ten years after the American Revolution ended. A poignant letter by General Benjamin Lincoln to George Washington put the issue in painful perspective: If the revolution can only be saved by repressing rebels, what kind of revolution do we have? Lincoln nevertheless helped to put down the revolt.

1CI chose to write this book in a narrative style, 1D Beck explains in the after-matter to the book, because 1CI want people to read the stories and feel as if they were there beside the characters, 1D and he cites the sources of his accounts and even sites the sources of those quotations that he has not invented. The more scholarly minded will want to consult these notes.

The reader who is most sensitive to language will notice that, in the oldest stories in the book, the actual eighteenth century quotations sound like authentic eighteenth century English, while the invented dialogue sounds more contemporary or like a modern person 19s imagining of what eighteenth century speech was like. I wonder how little errors got past Beck 19s army of ten (acknowledged) co-authors and editors. For example, whenever Beck deals with eighteenth century English he tends to misunderstand it. When Washington writes to General Lincoln, 1CAre your people getting mad? 1D Beck seems to think he is asking whether they are becoming angry, even though Lincoln 19s reply, as quoted in the book, demonstrates that he understood Washington to be asking whether people in Massachusetts are going insane. (Presuming these are actual quotes from an exchange of letters between Washington and Lincoln; they are not mentioned in the notes at the book 19s end.)

* As always with a book 1Cby Glenn Beck 1D there is a team of writers. Beck dictates to them what he wants and then exercises approval and editorial control. In this book we are given some credits: Writers and editors include Kevin Balfe and Hannah Beck (Glenn Beck 19s oldest daughter), James Best, Jack Henderson, David Pietrusza, Anthony J. Tara, and Jason Wright; other editors include Keith Malinak, Kevin Smith and Martha Weeks.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not strictly nonfiction, since it narrates the historical events with participants' actions, conversations and motivations not recorded in the documents on which the histories of the events are based. But those are the only elements that make it fiction. It is well researched, and even the fictional elements seem credible based on the sources.
I was a bit disappointed that most of the narratives show the worst of US actions, with exploitation, massacres, cover ups to benefit the powerful, and injustices, with only a few of the miracles, selflessness, and goodness that the nation nominally holds (most of us, anyway). It is a shame that there are so many incidents in the our shared past that violate the nation's most deeply held values and ideals, ideals we don't always live, but should and often do, strive to make the basis of our actions and policies.