Paul Harvey's the Rest of the Story

by Paul Aurandt Jr., Lynne Harvey (Editor), Paul Harvey (Contributor)

Eighty stories feature unusual facts and anecdotes, largely forgotten or ignored, involving historical and contemporary events and personalities

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Humor, Short Stories, Biography, Essays, Historical

235 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

also uses pseudonym: Paul Harvey, Jr.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book which was given to me nearly or more than 20 years ago. My father used to love listening to Paul Harvey's radio program "The Rest of the Story" so I was familiar with the format of this book.

This book is a collection of 80 stories about mostly famous people and short snippets of their history or more or other history that isn't the prominent history of the subject, like Marilyn Monroe or Sarah Winchester, or "Doc" Holliday to cite some examples.

The stories are interesting and I can recommend this book.

You can find it at the Canopy by Hilton Reykjavik City Center where I am leaving it behind for someone else to read.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading Paul Harvey's the Rest of the story. It was a challenge trying to solve the mystery of the person he was writing about as the clues built in many of the stories. The book has been given a Young Adult/Adult interest level. Many of the people that Harvey describes are unknown to the younger generation which would make it of more interest to adults. Other stories would be ideal for a junior high or high school audience because they are so inspirational. We are always seeking for ways to motivate our students. I will recommend this book to family, friends, and students.

[Leslie Maughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book! I used to listen to Paul Harvey on the radio as I got ready for school in the mornings, and it was fun to read a bunch of his stories in short doses in this book. I always wonder if they're all true...? Regardless, a lot of them give me goosebumps when I find out "the rest of the story," so it's a lot of fun.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of Paul Harvey's radio spots of the same name. I could hear that distinctive voice of his reading it to.me as I went along. If you like the odd little corners of history, this is going to be a great book for you.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If Paul Harvey was still alive today, the only way he would be able to make a living with his eccentric creepy voice would be to peddle true-crime sleaze like that white-haired pervert on NBC. Whatisname. The Dateline guy.

This was a book from my youth. Nationally syndicated radio "news and comment" guy, Paul Harvey, was a voice from the lazy days of the 1970s, mainly heard in the summer months from a static-prone but strong little transistor radio, when I was off school and frolicking around the pool or the yard, playing with the dogs or climbing the clothesline pole or retrieving an errant football quickly to avoid a vicious dog on the other side of the neighbor's fence.

So Paul Harvey represents a more innocent time, for me and for the country. He had an easy, slightly sinister and bemused edge to his vocal delivery that added suspense to his editorialized news broadcasts, and to a special segment of programs he titled, The Rest of the Story, which were neat little tales, often about famous people from history, that always had a boffo punchline that was supposed to be surprising and unpredictable.

This book was a collection of those little tales; kind of like the instant gratification stories one might have encountered in any typical Reader's Digest.

Needless to say, I read this a LONG time ago, and for some reason only just remembered it today; something to add to my life reading list.

Paul's son, Paul Harvey Jr., continued this radio shtick, fairly effectively, since he closely mimicked the vocal style of his dad, but by then I was too put off by the right-wing slant of the family broadcasting dynasty to care.

In the days before the Reagan years, this bias did not register with a kid who was just looking for some neat tales.

(KevinR@Ky 2016)

[Lydia Willcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: Rating of 5 stars applies only to the stories that I read. I cannot vouch for the others.

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up listening to Paul Harvey - this was an enjoyable and nostalgic read.

[Matt Mazenauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are all sorts of interesting tidbits that you can learn in this book - so long as you're willing to accept them at face value, without reference. Some seemed more exaggerated and unlikely than others. Sometimes, his storytelling technique will leave you feeling a bit jerked around, and his efforts to maintain the surprise sometimes interfere with the story itself. Other stories are obvious, despite the attempts to keep the ending a secret. However, for a quick, effortless (read: on the toilet) type book, it comes highly recommended.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed this from a friend and enjoyed the quick read. Each little story is only a page or two long so it's great if you only have a few minutes at a time to read. All sorts of interesting tidbits that make you say "no way!" and a neat little twist at the end. But that of course... is the rest of the story...

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and quick book to read. I enjoy the history behind these stories and it is fun guess if I know "the rest of the story!"

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was enjoyable to read, at least, some of it was. It contains 81 stories, each with a "twist," which I have to put in quotes because some their effectiveness will vary. Some work well, but others are pretty weak. For instance: Some famous person was slow to learn to read as a kid, so he had to be helped along the way by some educational benefactor, who turned out to be ... his mother. Did you gasp with astonishment? Neither did we. In another, you hear various details of the life of some guy named Bram Stoker. The twist is that he turns out to be the guy who wrote Dracula. You're meant to be shocked by that, but if you don't already know it, there's a good chance that you were never this book's audience to begin with.

I'm being a bit unfair, because I can't spoil the ones that are good, so you only get detail about the bad ones here. Overall, it was enjoyable, especially reading them aloud to my wife and trying to guess together what the twist is.

[Skyqueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought back so many memories!!! Really miss this guy. Wonderful, amazing stories right from his radio show. So glad his son decided to collect and publish. Definitely recommend for short entertaining yet educational facts! haha Could be an early version of Snopes! But much, much better. Share with your kids on 'how it used to be'!!! Before all this stupid nonsense of influencers, glorified criminals, and egotists!

[Gail Hedlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up listening to Paul Harvey on the radio in my family's kitchen at lunch time. It was a ritual with us. Often we'd try to guess when he went to commercial break with his famous "the rest of the story" who Paul would be talking about. Sometimes we were right, sometimes we weren't. Bu it always made for fond memories around the kitchen table.

[Devonne West · Rating 5 out of 5]

We now have a generation that knows little of Paul Harvey or his historical nuggets known as the "Rest of the Story." This book is a gem as we learn little-known facts of people in history, music, and sports. Wow seems to sum up what I feel but yet, it seems so inadequate. It's an easy read that is ends much too soon.

[Ember · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love that this is short & each "chapter" is just a few pages. However because this was written in the 70s, I didn't get most of it. For every 1 I got & went "huh" to, there were 5 stories that were written about someone I had no idea was. Still a cool read considering it was the book that launched his eventual Rest of the Story program.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember hearing The Rest of the Story on the radio as a child in the 70s. The vignettes were like mini-mysteries and held my attention all the way to the end every time. Reading them, I felt I was being let in on a secret, and I kept marveling, "how could he find so many interesting lives to keep the series going week in and week out!"

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a big collection of Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" radio show transcripts. If you love the show, you will love the book. The two biggest challenges are not to hear Harvey's voice while you read and not to skip to the end of the story to see who it is!

[LB · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like to know all the details, this book is a fun way to learn a little bit more about stories that we thought we knew.
This is also a great book if you remember listening to Paul Harvey's Rest of the Story segments on the radio.

[Kyle Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful compendium of historical tidbits, full of intrigue and surprise. I couldn't help but hear Paul Harvey's iconic voice in my head as I read them. For a fun read, I highly recommend it.

[Jordan Kinsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss Paul Harvey.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of Harvey's voice, it was more fun to listen to these than to read them - it wasn't so easy to cheat and check the end!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a great collection of quick stories. and if you ever heard his radio snippet, you cam hear his voice in these stories!

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved listening to Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story on the radio as a youth and this brought back memories although they are way earlier stories than what I listened to.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a great literary work, but an excellent pick-up-and-put-down read when you have a few minutes to fill.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting....but much better when you hear them told by Mr Harvey!

[Chris Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading the stories I would hear on the radio as a young boy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brought back fond memories of listening to Paul Harvey on the radio with my mom many years ago.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Paul Harvey's little stories!

[Richard Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved listening to him when the radio station would play his stories. I can still hear his voice while reading his book.

[Phil Hardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the way Paul would tell a story and then at the very end you would find out who the story was about which was a bit of a surprise.