Secrets buried under the sands of Turkey, the murder of a small-town sheriff, zombies at Vicksburg, otherworldly entities recruiting at a high society ball, and a daring escape from pirates. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and in these five stories, the two are blended into tales of alternate history. Each short story is accompanied by a brief essay detailing the history that the story twists.
I love history. History can be weirder than fiction, even to the point where it's incredible. That said, I also love this format, where you start with an essay about 'You won't believe what they did in Oklahoma' or whatever, and then follow up with a story about what else might have been happening. Vogel shares a lot of my interests and angles on both history and storytelling, and I can count on her books being a good read.
An enjoyable set of short stories. While each adds an element of fantasy that *probably* didn't occur in history, it's neat to read the essays beforehand and realize that the occurrence was at least a little weird before the author added anything.