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Shocking Secrets of American History: 115 Surprising and Amusing Tales
We all know the famous stories of times gone by taught to us in history class...but what about the small, signigicant details of those stories, the parts that never get told? Or the not-so-famous tales that go unexamined and unexplained? Read all about these lost gems in Shocking Secrets of American History.
244 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2006
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358 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
October 28, 2019
Shocking Secrets of American History is a collection of 115 anecdotes over the course of history from the colonial period to the 20th Century written by Bill Coate. Subtitled as “115 Surprising and Amusing Tales”, this was anything but as nothing was shocking, surprising, or amusing. Besides that, there were incorrect historical information, typos, and at least one incorrect photo. For an author who taught history for sixth and eighth grade as well as college, this isn’t good product.
June 28, 2012
A good bathroom read because the entries are only a page to two pages long each.
Earns a low rating for several reasons...
1) Most of the stories are stories that your average history buff would already be familiar with, like John Adams defending the British soldiers at the trial after the Boston Massacre.
2) It's pretty clear that the author is a novice writer. Many of the entries are poorly edited or start with very cliche introductions (ex. "Every school child know that..."). I'm a high school, history teacher, and I can tell you that most of the things the author says that students know, they do not.
3) There are huge gaps in his coverage of US history. The majority of the stories are from three periods... the American Revolution/Constitution, the Civil War and, as he titles it, "the west" (which is extremely centered on California history). There is next to nothing on the colonial era, early 1800's, late 1800's east of the Mississippi. The 20th century section has a grand total of 17 entries, none of which are on post-WWII topics.
Earns a low rating for several reasons...
1) Most of the stories are stories that your average history buff would already be familiar with, like John Adams defending the British soldiers at the trial after the Boston Massacre.
2) It's pretty clear that the author is a novice writer. Many of the entries are poorly edited or start with very cliche introductions (ex. "Every school child know that..."). I'm a high school, history teacher, and I can tell you that most of the things the author says that students know, they do not.
3) There are huge gaps in his coverage of US history. The majority of the stories are from three periods... the American Revolution/Constitution, the Civil War and, as he titles it, "the west" (which is extremely centered on California history). There is next to nothing on the colonial era, early 1800's, late 1800's east of the Mississippi. The 20th century section has a grand total of 17 entries, none of which are on post-WWII topics.
February 26, 2019
Should not be labeled under 'History'. More likely "Heresay" or "Gossip/Rumor". Not even a quarter of the way through the book, I realized that at least two of the "short stories" were just not true. History, of course, will always be viewed through interpretation but either something happened or it didn't. Not recommended for a history novice, it will confuse you with half-truths and certainly not for a history buffs, as it'll just piss you off.
October 31, 2017
If you think history is boring, you really should try this book. The chapters are just 2 pages long, on a wide variety of topics, and believe me when I say you probably learned almost none of this stuff in your high school history class . What do you mean you've never heard of Joshua Abraham Norton a.k.a. Norton The First, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico? Or that Henry Ford got a medal from Adolph Hitler? Or stagecoach driver Charlie Parkhurst's secret? Or why U.S. presidents probably wouldn't want Robert Todd Lincoln (old Abe's son) hanging around? Read this book, then go and impress your professor!
July 24, 2012
This is an anecdotal history text that I you could read in your own way at your own leisure, like a book of short stories. They're short, concise, and if you don't like one, the next one might catch your interest. I didn't mind it at all. I do have to say that sometimes the shocking secret that's reserved for the last paragraph of the of the story in most cases is really a hit or miss. Still, there were some anecdotes that I enjoyed. Some I questioned, but more than anything I was happy with the book. A good read.
March 21, 2009
This is written by the teacher from Madera who took his students on the wagon treks. He has researched a lot of fun little stories from different time periods in US history and presents them in short story form. It is just a fun book to read, a story here and there when you have a few spare moments.
June 21, 2022
Many of the anecdotes in this collection were interesting, amusing, and/or strange. And I appreciated that they were all concise (less than 2 pages), which allowed me to read it whenever I had time without losing track of any one story. It was quite enjoyable.
I would've enjoyed it more if it had been better edited though. There were numerous minor (but obvious) errors that distracted from the content and slowed down the reader as you have to decipher what it should've said (such as saying "contact" instead of "contract" or "desert" instead of "dessert") rather than what it does say.
I'm also not sure what the criteria of considering something "secret" was. For example, Plessy v. Ferguson was a major court case that we discussed in school numerous times - hardly seems like a secret. Still, most of the chapters taught me new things or gave me more details on an incident.
I would've enjoyed it more if it had been better edited though. There were numerous minor (but obvious) errors that distracted from the content and slowed down the reader as you have to decipher what it should've said (such as saying "contact" instead of "contract" or "desert" instead of "dessert") rather than what it does say.
I'm also not sure what the criteria of considering something "secret" was. For example, Plessy v. Ferguson was a major court case that we discussed in school numerous times - hardly seems like a secret. Still, most of the chapters taught me new things or gave me more details on an incident.
May 12, 2023
What a great book!! Easy to read with 1 1/2 page stories of history, and, this isn't your parents history, either! Scandals, bad behavior and all kinds of surprises about all your favorite folks in history. It's funny, sad and educational by turns, and it's a page turner. Even if you aren't a history buff, you'll love this book!!! 5*****
May 25, 2021
I have always loved the mundane parts of history. Some may argue that most of history is mundane, with laboriously worded documents and men arguing with each other over the same issue for decades, but what I mean are the day to day actions of our past, the seemingly unimportant moments at the time. The Shocking Secrets of American History provides context and "behind the scenes" understanding for events that we may know a lot or a little about, without the censorship and omission that our education performs.
Drawing back the curtain, Coate provides humorous and valuable insight into what was really going on during certain parts of our nation's history. It is hilariously written, knowing full well the absurdity of our forefathers and how their actions influence our lives today. Often ending each short story with a joke or pun, Coate demonstrates how history can be fun and entertaining, especially when providing an explanation for things we may never have before questioned. In the same vein, Coate doesn't shy away from mistakes or the absurd, allowing us to understand how people in the past suffered and made mistakes just like we do today. Whether it is now or 200 years ago, we are all subject to the folly of human nature.
Coate often poses the question "Where would we be if things had turned out differently?".
It is a question that anyone versed in history has been asked, but it is interesting to see it applied to very specific and often minute instances. How would World War II have panned out if Hitler's last name was actually Schicklgruber? How would our nation be different if Lincoln had listened to his prophetic dreams before attending the theatre? Given what has been deemed important to teach us in schools now versus what this book uncovers, Shocking Secrets is really the epitome of hindsight being 20/20.
I didn't love the organization of the book. The majority is made up of the revolutionary era through the wild west, taking great care of the time that spanned between them. It jumps very quickly into the twentieth century and doesn't leave us with as much material as the prior sections. It felt a little disingenuous given the care given to earlier timelines, but that could very well be due to the widespread availability of knowledge in our more recent history, thus providing less unknown content than in the earlier time periods.
Each little story is no longer than a page and a half to two pages, doing away with the long winded texts that history books tend to provide. This makes Shocking Secrets a quick and entertaining read, keeping your attention from one story to the next. While not something I would normally go looking for, it was a surprisingly delightful second hand shop find, and I would recommend it to anyone trying to get into history and nonfiction, but are fearful of potential monotony. Don't worry- people were just as goofy then as they are now.
Overall, I'm left with a sense of eeriness after reading. There are so many strange coincidences outlined in this book, that one has to wonder- are the conspiracies true? Is there a greater force at play in our history? Like the people in this book, we may just have to wait a few centuries to find out.
Drawing back the curtain, Coate provides humorous and valuable insight into what was really going on during certain parts of our nation's history. It is hilariously written, knowing full well the absurdity of our forefathers and how their actions influence our lives today. Often ending each short story with a joke or pun, Coate demonstrates how history can be fun and entertaining, especially when providing an explanation for things we may never have before questioned. In the same vein, Coate doesn't shy away from mistakes or the absurd, allowing us to understand how people in the past suffered and made mistakes just like we do today. Whether it is now or 200 years ago, we are all subject to the folly of human nature.
Coate often poses the question "Where would we be if things had turned out differently?".
It is a question that anyone versed in history has been asked, but it is interesting to see it applied to very specific and often minute instances. How would World War II have panned out if Hitler's last name was actually Schicklgruber? How would our nation be different if Lincoln had listened to his prophetic dreams before attending the theatre? Given what has been deemed important to teach us in schools now versus what this book uncovers, Shocking Secrets is really the epitome of hindsight being 20/20.
I didn't love the organization of the book. The majority is made up of the revolutionary era through the wild west, taking great care of the time that spanned between them. It jumps very quickly into the twentieth century and doesn't leave us with as much material as the prior sections. It felt a little disingenuous given the care given to earlier timelines, but that could very well be due to the widespread availability of knowledge in our more recent history, thus providing less unknown content than in the earlier time periods.
Each little story is no longer than a page and a half to two pages, doing away with the long winded texts that history books tend to provide. This makes Shocking Secrets a quick and entertaining read, keeping your attention from one story to the next. While not something I would normally go looking for, it was a surprisingly delightful second hand shop find, and I would recommend it to anyone trying to get into history and nonfiction, but are fearful of potential monotony. Don't worry- people were just as goofy then as they are now.
Overall, I'm left with a sense of eeriness after reading. There are so many strange coincidences outlined in this book, that one has to wonder- are the conspiracies true? Is there a greater force at play in our history? Like the people in this book, we may just have to wait a few centuries to find out.
November 25, 2014
VERY short stories, page and a half on average. And these vignettes of American history are not very shocking. The subtitle of the book is: 115 surprising and amusing tales. That is a more accurate portrayal of what is in this book. If you have a short attention span for history and only want to hear some interesting bits then this book fills that need pretty well.
I think the most surprising thing I learned was that "the Stars and Bars are still flying in Brazil today as the result of an emigration of thousands of Southern expatriates who journeyed there shortly after their loss in the War of the Rebellion." They became known as the Confederados and "Today thousands of descendants of the Confederados can be found throughout Brazil, and once a year, they gather to render homage to their Rebel roots." Well, I had no idea!
My favorite story is about Joshua Abraham Norton of San Francisco. After he lost all his wealth in 1859 he went somewhat batty and declared himself "Norton the First, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico". He put on an old military uniform and went to a newspaper to announce his self-coronation. The editor printed it and for the next 21 years, until his death, "Citizens who passed him addressed him as "Your Majesty". Policemen saluted him smartly. He reviewed the state militia, and a special chair was always reserved for him in the state legislature." etc (don't want to give it all away!)
The most shocking thing, to me, was that Amelia Earhart's letter to her groom as they waited for the justice of the peace. It said, in part, "In our life together, I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me, nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly."
I also found the book somewhat depressing because as we skate through history from the founding of the country to present day everyone keeps dying. Of course. But in short stories like this it is as if time is speeded up and so people are just dying at an amazing speed.
I think the most surprising thing I learned was that "the Stars and Bars are still flying in Brazil today as the result of an emigration of thousands of Southern expatriates who journeyed there shortly after their loss in the War of the Rebellion." They became known as the Confederados and "Today thousands of descendants of the Confederados can be found throughout Brazil, and once a year, they gather to render homage to their Rebel roots." Well, I had no idea!
My favorite story is about Joshua Abraham Norton of San Francisco. After he lost all his wealth in 1859 he went somewhat batty and declared himself "Norton the First, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico". He put on an old military uniform and went to a newspaper to announce his self-coronation. The editor printed it and for the next 21 years, until his death, "Citizens who passed him addressed him as "Your Majesty". Policemen saluted him smartly. He reviewed the state militia, and a special chair was always reserved for him in the state legislature." etc (don't want to give it all away!)
The most shocking thing, to me, was that Amelia Earhart's letter to her groom as they waited for the justice of the peace. It said, in part, "In our life together, I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me, nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly."
I also found the book somewhat depressing because as we skate through history from the founding of the country to present day everyone keeps dying. Of course. But in short stories like this it is as if time is speeded up and so people are just dying at an amazing speed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2023
3.5
The promise of America is premised on the need for an educated citizenry. Thomas Jefferson articulated the idea in stark terms when he said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be."
This passage is from the first paragraph of the introduction. Coate hoped that by writing this book, he would pique the interest of his readers, prompting them to want to know more about our history as a nation. I believe these 1-page anecdotes may do just that.
p 51
More than 600,000 soldiers died in the Civil War.
I'm sure I've seen that number before, but I didn't remember it. Interesting that about the same number of people in the U.S. have succumbed to Covid19 as of this month.
A couple of people have commented on inaccuracies, but did not provide specifics, so I don't take that very seriously, especially since the little I do know meshes with what is stated here.
Shocking? no
Surprising and amusing? not really
Interesting? yes
The promise of America is premised on the need for an educated citizenry. Thomas Jefferson articulated the idea in stark terms when he said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be."
This passage is from the first paragraph of the introduction. Coate hoped that by writing this book, he would pique the interest of his readers, prompting them to want to know more about our history as a nation. I believe these 1-page anecdotes may do just that.
p 51
More than 600,000 soldiers died in the Civil War.
I'm sure I've seen that number before, but I didn't remember it. Interesting that about the same number of people in the U.S. have succumbed to Covid19 as of this month.
A couple of people have commented on inaccuracies, but did not provide specifics, so I don't take that very seriously, especially since the little I do know meshes with what is stated here.
Shocking? no
Surprising and amusing? not really
Interesting? yes
September 30, 2007
This book was interesting overall, but needed some further editing for punctuation errors and typos.
December 29, 2022
Okay, so I admit it: I'm a sucker for these kinds of books. You know the ones--where there are quick essays (1-2 pages) of obscure and interesting history, interesting stories and background info you rarely get access to. Whenever I'm in our local Barnes & Noble, I browse the bargain book section for these kinds of books, then I place them next to my bed. They are the perfect way to end the day and to soak in more history (can't get enough).
This book may not win any literature awards, but for pure moments of, "Ah-ha! I had no idea!" it can't be beat. The origin story of the classic military song, Taps, for example, is fascinating, and who knew that Robert Todd Lincoln would be present at three presidential assassinations? Quite the curse for that poor fellow.
Two more of my favorites: For all you football fans, I'm sure you've heard of the Heisman Trophy. Did you know it was named after a college football coach, John Heisman, and that he led the Georgia Tech football team to a whopping 222 to 0 crushing of Cumberland College in 1916?
And Amelia Earhart's idea of marriage and what it meant is captured in a letter she handed her husband on their wedding day. Here were her terms: "In our life together, I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me, nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly. Please let us not interfere with each other's work or play. In this connection, I may have to keep some place where I can go to be myself now and then, for I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the confinements of even an attractive cage." In closing, Amelia exacted what she called a cruel promise: "You must let me go in a year if we find no happiness together."
Now that's a jewel of history, right there.
If you're looking for other quick, interesting bits of American history, then this is a good book for you!
This book may not win any literature awards, but for pure moments of, "Ah-ha! I had no idea!" it can't be beat. The origin story of the classic military song, Taps, for example, is fascinating, and who knew that Robert Todd Lincoln would be present at three presidential assassinations? Quite the curse for that poor fellow.
Two more of my favorites: For all you football fans, I'm sure you've heard of the Heisman Trophy. Did you know it was named after a college football coach, John Heisman, and that he led the Georgia Tech football team to a whopping 222 to 0 crushing of Cumberland College in 1916?
And Amelia Earhart's idea of marriage and what it meant is captured in a letter she handed her husband on their wedding day. Here were her terms: "In our life together, I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me, nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly. Please let us not interfere with each other's work or play. In this connection, I may have to keep some place where I can go to be myself now and then, for I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the confinements of even an attractive cage." In closing, Amelia exacted what she called a cruel promise: "You must let me go in a year if we find no happiness together."
Now that's a jewel of history, right there.
If you're looking for other quick, interesting bits of American history, then this is a good book for you!
February 2, 2021
If you like this book, You’ll love the podcast Cabinet of Curiosities. Each story reads like an episode (but Aaron Mahnke does much better research). It also reminds me of the Memory Palace podcast, although less eloquent than the amazing Nate DiMeo. I liked the stories, even though I knew a LOT Of them and this guy REALLY likes the 1800s to the detriment of literally any stories after WW2 and very few of those that weren’t Hitler-centric. I like the gold rush and old west as much as any history teacher, but wow, that took up a lot of real estate in this book, especially considering there was also a whole Civil War section. The stories were also very very white, which always gets my goat—you know people of color did amazing stuff too, right? There were also several typos, an incorrect image, and some of the stories reeked of heresay and gossip or have long been proven false. It wasn’t a great book, but it was quick and worth picking up for some interesting conversation starters, assuming the people you’re talking with are interested in US history between 1850-1880.
September 7, 2021
I'm a sucker for clickbait titles, so I grabbed this book a while back from the Barnes and Noble clearance bin at the beginning of the COVID issue.. thinking it would be a good way to get my daughters to do some history if needed. That didn't really work out, and I remembered I had it the other day and read through it.
It's a series of 1 page blurbs.. some of which are pretty fun, several of which I'd consider common knowledge.(like John Adams defending the British, o the Battle of New Orleans happening after the war was over)
The author covers the Revolution, the Civil War, and the California Gold Rush.. with only a very small bit of other stuff.. so it's not really all of American history by a long shot. It is nicely indexed and has a good bibliography, so I think it would work for giving an overview and ideas for further research.
Overall, I'd call it worth the small investment of time and money I put in, but not particularly recommended.
It's a series of 1 page blurbs.. some of which are pretty fun, several of which I'd consider common knowledge.(like John Adams defending the British, o the Battle of New Orleans happening after the war was over)
The author covers the Revolution, the Civil War, and the California Gold Rush.. with only a very small bit of other stuff.. so it's not really all of American history by a long shot. It is nicely indexed and has a good bibliography, so I think it would work for giving an overview and ideas for further research.
Overall, I'd call it worth the small investment of time and money I put in, but not particularly recommended.
July 27, 2024
This one took longer for me to finish not because of its length or even because of disinterest. It was mostly because I treated as a nightstand book. But not just a nightstand book. I would only read it in bed if I was particularly tired and knew I only had a few pages in me. There are no chapters, per say. It is broken up into sections of American History and does so 1-2 pages at a time. So it's a great nightstand read.
However, many of the stories need more context than a couple of pages and boiling them down to one anecdote simplifies some of the more complicated stories.
That said, I enjoyed it the most whenever it started out just telling a generic story (Much like Mike Rowe likes to do on his radioshow/podcast). But by the end, you learned it was some famous American figure.
So, in short, it works best as late night/sleepy read.
However, many of the stories need more context than a couple of pages and boiling them down to one anecdote simplifies some of the more complicated stories.
That said, I enjoyed it the most whenever it started out just telling a generic story (Much like Mike Rowe likes to do on his radioshow/podcast). But by the end, you learned it was some famous American figure.
So, in short, it works best as late night/sleepy read.
June 21, 2018
This was an interesting enough book, I found that being a fan of history, many of the stories were well known to me. That being said there were quite a few that I did not know.
The cool thing about the book is that it is set up with about 2 pages for each story so it works very well with the dwindling modern attention span, and the brevity of the stories allows less of a chance that people who have no interest in history will run for the hills!
I recommend this book to anyone with a sparse knowledge of history or someone that is not quite a fan. The stories are interesting enough to keep the attention and it is a quick way to learn some new things for the person that thinks history is boring or useless.
The cool thing about the book is that it is set up with about 2 pages for each story so it works very well with the dwindling modern attention span, and the brevity of the stories allows less of a chance that people who have no interest in history will run for the hills!
I recommend this book to anyone with a sparse knowledge of history or someone that is not quite a fan. The stories are interesting enough to keep the attention and it is a quick way to learn some new things for the person that thinks history is boring or useless.
September 16, 2023
This book had some interesting stories although I must be more well read than I thought because I didn't find too many that I already didn't know. For the most part this is an entertaining read with quick snippets to give you the gist of something without going too in depth; however, as others have mentioned, for a "true" story collection written by a teacher, it is unsettling to see so many typos and grammatical errors as well as several stories with misinformation and at least one that is the author's blatant conjecture with no supporting facts.
It is an entertaining read but I wouldn't take the information as the final word and use it instead as a springboard for more in-depth reading elsewhere.
It is an entertaining read but I wouldn't take the information as the final word and use it instead as a springboard for more in-depth reading elsewhere.
March 28, 2023
I just love this book. Part history, part humor and wholly entertaining. This is a history book that is not boring, but a wonderful glimpse in small little pieces. Think Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story series. This not the best written book, nor is it perfect, but, plenty of ah ha moments and plenty of I never knew that. Subjects are explored of the strange twist of history for a Southern farmer and his ties to the beginning and end of the Civil War and the origin of Taps. Stories from the White house and the far west. How Wyatt Earp may have fixed a fight and Sitting Bull's pragmatism. There is something for everyone in this wonderful read.
July 14, 2025
I was really interested in a lot of the stories in this book because I had never heard of them. I found myself having to look up a lot of the information so I put the book down a lot to go research. I think one of my favorite stories was about the man who killed John Wilkes Booth, Boston Corbett. I had never heard of Corbett before but then to learn that he lived in Kansas for a time was really interesting (no spoilers). I only wish the stories were longer and there were even more stories. I really think a lot of the stories need to be taught in history class. There were a couple I did know about from watching the show Mysteries at the Museum.
October 31, 2017
I thought this book was great fun! I enjoyed these very short stories. They were told in an eventful way and a lot of it was not covered in history class in school. I don't think many of them were that shocking. I would use the word amusing in the title instead. I loved the cleverness of it all - the presentation, the writing... It was a very quick read and worth the short time it takes to read it!
May 24, 2019
As a history teacher, some of these were fun little stories to read. But as a history teacher, there are editing errors and inaccuracies in this book. Meade did not command the Union Army at Chancellorsville in May of 1863, he took command right before Gettysburg at the end of June 1863. Jackson’s death being caused by cold towels...that has nothing to do with contracting pneumonia virus. Disappointed that some simple research or editing clearly wasn’t done for some of these.
July 1, 2019
This was a rough one. I had it as an end table book and slowly read through it. The writing was okay, the stories were oddly spread through U.S. history, and it was an easy read. Some of the “secrets” where interesting - I learned a few things (hence the 2 ⭐️’s and not 1), some were common knowledge, some were complete rumors, others ridiculous assumptions, and some not even slightly entertaining stories. Not worth the discounted Barnes and Noble purchase.
April 13, 2020
This was a fun little collection of lesser-known facts, each about a page and a half long. Some of them, like Adams and Jefferson dying on the same day, were things I knew; others, like how the Mormons founded San Bernadino, CA, were things I didn't know.
While there seemed to be an outsized amount of attention paid to Lincoln, it was a fun read for someone who likes American history and trivia.
While there seemed to be an outsized amount of attention paid to Lincoln, it was a fun read for someone who likes American history and trivia.
December 4, 2020
I thought this book was a gem. I don't know why anyone would give it just 1 or 2 stars. But, I do understand the criticisms about poor research, etc. In any case, as a person who doesn't read a lot of history books, I found the stories super interesting and amusing. And, as others mentioned, with just 2 page chapters, it's very easy to read a little tidbit of fascinating history at a time. For the amateur historian, I give it 5 stars 👍
December 17, 2018
I'd hardly call the stories contained in this book "shocking". More like "mildly interesting" at best. A couple of the tales were so trivial that I had no choice but to come to the conclusion that they were added simply as filler. It's an okay book if you're bored and have nothing else to read, but if you have your heart set on something exciting - move along.
March 17, 2019
Cool book! Coate's quick read short stories surrounding some key events in history are interesting, eye opening and certainly entertaining. Enjoyed such things as how "Taps" became a ritual, how Hitler and his relationship with the United States played an indirect role in the Hindenberg Disaster and how a con-man played a role in the Transcontinental Railroad. Well worth the read.
October 14, 2021
115 Vignettes about American History--the real American History that will amuse and, in some cases, leave you scratching your head. Found this on bargain shelf in B&N and picked it up. Not my usual fare but I enjoyed it. Found it to be a great book for reading in the toilet since each section is about two pages.
January 5, 2022
Another history buff good read. What did I love? The fact that there were plenty of stories I didn't know about. What did I enjoy? Seeing in my mind endless Drunk History opportunities for stories to be told. What was the downer? History, as we get more technologically advanced, is both hard to track and easier to destroy while actually keeping many records of events.
June 19, 2018
This is not a book to be taken seriously. The Shocking Secrets for the most part were neither shocking, nor secret. Some of the stories have been discredited by true historians, others were a reach.
Not a book I would recommend to anyone.
Not a book I would recommend to anyone.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews