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A Treasury of Great American Scandals: Tantalizing True Tales of Historic Misbehavior by the Founding Fathers and Others Who Let Freedom Swing
Following on the heels of his national bestseller A Treasury of Royal Scandals, Michael Farquhar turns his attention to matters a little closer to home with A Treasury of Great American Scandals. From the unhappy family relationships of prominent Americans to the feuds, smear campaigns, duels, and infamous sex scandals that have punctuated our history, we see our founding fathers and other American heroes in the course of their all-too-human events. Ineffectual presidents, lazy generals, traitors; treacherous fathers, nagging mothers, ungrateful children, embarrassing siblings; and stories about insanity, death, and disturbing postmortems are all here, as are disagreeable marriages, vile habits, and, of course, sex: good sex, bad sex, and good-bad sex too. We can take comfort in the fact that we are no worse and no better than our forebears. But we do have better media coverage. Bonus educational material:
A brief history of the United States, including scandals!
The American Hall of Shame!
A complete listing of presidential administrations!
A brief history of the United States, including scandals!
The American Hall of Shame!
A complete listing of presidential administrations!
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2003
65 people are currently reading
1037 people want to read
About the author
Michael Farquhar
22 books221 followersMichael Farquhar, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Behind the Palace Doors and Secret Lives of the Tsars, as well as the popular Penguin "Treasury" series: A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, and A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. He lives in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
April 18, 2018
Lots of interesting facts. Of course sometimes we learn things about historical people we wish we had never found out. For instance; Benjamin Franklin. I have always admired him. He brought lending libraries to America. But he also threw his son in jail because he was on the British side of the Revolutionary War and left him to rot. Literally! All his teeth rotted out of his mouth. Then he prevented his grandson from visiting his father. So...crappy father.
This is a good book but be prepared to learn uncomfortable facts about the heroes of history.
This is a good book but be prepared to learn uncomfortable facts about the heroes of history.
June 20, 2018
This was hilarious. Light, fun and extremely easy reading. I gave it 3 stars only because the author played a bit loose with actual facts.
September 29, 2018
This wasn't my favorite by Farquhar, but he writes history in such a sassy way that it makes what would be boring stories interesting.
June 16, 2015
I assumed that this was a bathroom reader but there was much more substance and less fluff. A nice little history refresher. There are some names that sound familiar and I should know why, but I don't. For example, Joe McCarthy was a bit before my time and I knew he was involved in the Communist witch hunt, but I didn't realize the whole story. Of course some things you need enough time to pass to have the whole story, so Billy Carter (his scandal about being paid by the Libyians) is where this history book ends.
April 28, 2008
i read these books because i love history, but i didnt find this one as interesting as the royalty scandals, but nonetheless it was an interesting read.
July 21, 2012
Well, it's American history, so obviously there's a level of dryness you can't get around, but the author writes in a very witty, sometimes sarcastic manner that amuses me. Educational little bits of stuff you won't find in history books. I definitely learned stuff I didn't know about and I think it was worth the read almost just for the more in-depth story on the Salem witch trials (oh my god I didn't know a bunch of jerk-ass kids were the cause of it, augh, what a messed up town.) I only recommend it for people who actually have a slight interest in history though, otherwise I would recommend you try some of the other funnier books such as his first one, A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories of History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors, which has more debauchery because it spans an earlier time, or Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped, which is similar but has different stories.
This book of course is only recent history, starting at the American Revolution, and spanning to 1980, and which can get a little more boring. But I still enjoyed it and came out learning several new things.
One of the most interesting stories I found was this: A congressman in 1859 shot another important man dead in front of the white house because he was sleeping with his wife. At his murder trail, the entire jury acquitted him, citing that they would do the same thing. A parade was held in his honor, the murderer, that is. Everyone loved him. Then, he returned to his wife. Everyone suddenly hated him, because he was returning to a 'polluted woman.' Oh. Okay. So murder is okay, but reconciling with your wife is disgusting and vile. Okay people of 1859. I see.
July 1, 2020
Had a fun yet informative time reading this!
September 6, 2016
Andrew Jackson was a crazy son-of-a-bitch.
October 1, 2009
There are many good reasons to study history. There is the desire not to be doomed to repeat it, for one, which I find to be an excellent motivator. I remember watching the run-up to the invasion of Iraq and hearing the spectral voice of William Randolph Hearst screaming "Remember the Maine!" in my head. And of all the reasons to study history, that is perhaps the most important, though not necessarily the most fun.
You might also study history to just enjoy the stories. I used to hate history, especially in high school. Like so many of you out there, I had a boring high school history teacher, who did his very best to make sure that none of his youthful charges ever gave a damn about history once finals were over. If I were a more conspiratorially-minded person, I would say it was so that he could contribute to a generation of Sheeple that would do as they were told by their corporate and governmental masters, but that would be giving him too much credit. More likely it was a lack of proper continuing education for teachers combined with the inevitable erosion of the soul that must come from anyone who has to deal with high school students all day.
In any case, I came to enjoy history once I started looking at it as a series of stories. Not just names and dates and events, but actual people. And once I understood that these stiff, bearded men and those stiff, corseted women were really human beings - with lives as rich and as interesting as any other human being (moreso, in fact, since we remember their names after a century or two) - I found more reasons to care both about them and the times in which they lived.
Take, for example, Aaron Burr. Killer of Alexander Hamilton. The two of them despised each other, seeming ot even resent the fact that the other man existed, and years of animosity culminated in a fateful duel in 1804. The two men met on the dueling ground, as was the manner of the day, and shot. Both men were injured, Hamilton fatally, and Burr fled, as what he had done was technically murder. But that wasn't all for good old Aaron Burr - he moved West, and engaged in activities that appeared to be either an invasion of Mexico or an attempt to split the Union in two along the Appalachian Mountains. Or both.
Or neither- no one was really sure what Burr what up to, other than no good. But the man was slippery in a way that would make Dick Cheney go green. While everyone knew he had murdered Hamilton, and everyone knew he was trying to set himself up as possibly the Emperor of Western America, he never went to trial for the first crime and was acquitted of treason in his second. He died a free, but reviled, man. Hell of a guy.
Not all the stories are as grand in scope - some are feuds and revenge stories that burn with jealous rage. Such was the case of Senator William Sharon's fling with Althea Hill, which led to death, betrayal, madness, and two Supreme Court decisions. Sharon and Hill began a highly suspect love affair in 1880. It was hot, it was passionate, and it ended very, very badly, Sharon dead, Hill in an insane asylum, and Hill's second husband (her defense attorney) shot dead by the bodyguard of the Supreme Court justice who was to rule on whether or not Hill and Sharon had been legally married in the first place.
That doesn't hold a candle, in my opinion, to the story of Rep. Daniel Sickles, his wife Teresa, and her lover (and Sickles' friend), Philip Barton Key, which ended in vengeful murder and an intervention by the President of the United States. Key was stepping out with Teresa on a regular and not-very-subtle basis, and everyone knew it. Everyone but Daniel Sickles, of course. Lies have a way of making themselves known, however, and eventually he found out and confronted his wife. Key, however, had no idea the affair had been exposed, and showed up in Lafayette Park, his usual meeting place with Teresa, giving The Signal that he wanted a little extra-marital nookie. What he got was a furious husband and a bullet in the chest. Sickles, for his part, was acquitted on what may have been the first "temporary insanity" defense in the nation's history.
Parts of this book are especially fun to read in an election year, as there's an entire section devoted to underhanded, dishonest or otherwise dirty campaigning. If you thought that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were bad, or the Tea Parties were poisoning the discourse, you're forgetting that in the Presidential campaign of 1828, John Adams' people accused Andrew Jackson's mother of being a prostitute, his wife of being a bigamist, and Jackson himself of being a homicidal maniac. During the campaign of 1800 (Jefferson versus Adams), the Connecticut Courant warned that, should Jefferson be elected, "Murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest will be openly taught and proclaimed. The air will be rent with the cries of the distressed, the soil will be soaked with blood and the nation black with crimes."
Lincoln, who has become known as one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had, was called "a joke" by the New York Herald, and an "ignorant, boorish, third-rate backwoods lawyer" by the New York World. Grover Cleveland was assaulted with the chant, "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa!" after it was discovered that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. This led to accusations of further debaucheries and unnamed sins against good Christian womanhood and morals the likes of which would make Bill Clinton's head spin.
A nice coda to that story, though - Cleveland openly admitted to fathering the child (and providing support to the mother afterwards), believing that the truth was the best defense against smears. It also helped that his opponent had not only despoiled a girl in his youth, but was forced to marry her at shotgun-point - hardly one who should be criticizing a man for his youthful indiscretions. When Cleveland won re-election, his followers took up the Republicans' taunting chant with a retort laced with schadenfreude - "Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Which brings me to the third reason why it's valuable to study history - it helps you gain perspective. The United States is going through some trying times right now, and if you pay attention to the blogs and the cable news networks, you might believe that these are indeed the worst of times. That having a sitting governor traipse down to Argentina for a little Latin loving is the nadir of morality. That having a news organization foment protest rallies and marches is the height of unethical behavior. That accusing your white opponent of having fathered a black child, or spending some private time with a White House intern, or making IM passes at teenage boys are all signs that America is on a one-way trip to hell, even if we can't afford the handbasket.
History is the antidote to the common belief that the times in which we live must be special. Every generation thinks it - that I am here, therefore the events of my times must be the most important events to have ever happened. It's egocentric and very, very human, but - and this is important - it's not true. There is nothing special or different about the times in which we live, because human nature hasn't changed. For every scandal we see to day that frightens or enrages or disgusts us, you can look to history to see that it's already been done, and done worse. History provides perspective, and it offers hope. The country has seen a lot of bad things in its time, but it has survived. It has seen abuse of civil rights that were far more egregious than anything that happened after 9/11 and it has survived. It has seen civil unrest that makes the Tea Partiers or the G20 protesters look like sulky children - and it has survived.
So turn off the TV, step away from the computer and pick up a good history book - like this one - and let your worries settle down to a much more manageable size. You'll thank yourself for it.
You might also study history to just enjoy the stories. I used to hate history, especially in high school. Like so many of you out there, I had a boring high school history teacher, who did his very best to make sure that none of his youthful charges ever gave a damn about history once finals were over. If I were a more conspiratorially-minded person, I would say it was so that he could contribute to a generation of Sheeple that would do as they were told by their corporate and governmental masters, but that would be giving him too much credit. More likely it was a lack of proper continuing education for teachers combined with the inevitable erosion of the soul that must come from anyone who has to deal with high school students all day.
In any case, I came to enjoy history once I started looking at it as a series of stories. Not just names and dates and events, but actual people. And once I understood that these stiff, bearded men and those stiff, corseted women were really human beings - with lives as rich and as interesting as any other human being (moreso, in fact, since we remember their names after a century or two) - I found more reasons to care both about them and the times in which they lived.
Take, for example, Aaron Burr. Killer of Alexander Hamilton. The two of them despised each other, seeming ot even resent the fact that the other man existed, and years of animosity culminated in a fateful duel in 1804. The two men met on the dueling ground, as was the manner of the day, and shot. Both men were injured, Hamilton fatally, and Burr fled, as what he had done was technically murder. But that wasn't all for good old Aaron Burr - he moved West, and engaged in activities that appeared to be either an invasion of Mexico or an attempt to split the Union in two along the Appalachian Mountains. Or both.
Or neither- no one was really sure what Burr what up to, other than no good. But the man was slippery in a way that would make Dick Cheney go green. While everyone knew he had murdered Hamilton, and everyone knew he was trying to set himself up as possibly the Emperor of Western America, he never went to trial for the first crime and was acquitted of treason in his second. He died a free, but reviled, man. Hell of a guy.
Not all the stories are as grand in scope - some are feuds and revenge stories that burn with jealous rage. Such was the case of Senator William Sharon's fling with Althea Hill, which led to death, betrayal, madness, and two Supreme Court decisions. Sharon and Hill began a highly suspect love affair in 1880. It was hot, it was passionate, and it ended very, very badly, Sharon dead, Hill in an insane asylum, and Hill's second husband (her defense attorney) shot dead by the bodyguard of the Supreme Court justice who was to rule on whether or not Hill and Sharon had been legally married in the first place.
That doesn't hold a candle, in my opinion, to the story of Rep. Daniel Sickles, his wife Teresa, and her lover (and Sickles' friend), Philip Barton Key, which ended in vengeful murder and an intervention by the President of the United States. Key was stepping out with Teresa on a regular and not-very-subtle basis, and everyone knew it. Everyone but Daniel Sickles, of course. Lies have a way of making themselves known, however, and eventually he found out and confronted his wife. Key, however, had no idea the affair had been exposed, and showed up in Lafayette Park, his usual meeting place with Teresa, giving The Signal that he wanted a little extra-marital nookie. What he got was a furious husband and a bullet in the chest. Sickles, for his part, was acquitted on what may have been the first "temporary insanity" defense in the nation's history.
Parts of this book are especially fun to read in an election year, as there's an entire section devoted to underhanded, dishonest or otherwise dirty campaigning. If you thought that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were bad, or the Tea Parties were poisoning the discourse, you're forgetting that in the Presidential campaign of 1828, John Adams' people accused Andrew Jackson's mother of being a prostitute, his wife of being a bigamist, and Jackson himself of being a homicidal maniac. During the campaign of 1800 (Jefferson versus Adams), the Connecticut Courant warned that, should Jefferson be elected, "Murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest will be openly taught and proclaimed. The air will be rent with the cries of the distressed, the soil will be soaked with blood and the nation black with crimes."
Lincoln, who has become known as one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had, was called "a joke" by the New York Herald, and an "ignorant, boorish, third-rate backwoods lawyer" by the New York World. Grover Cleveland was assaulted with the chant, "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa!" after it was discovered that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. This led to accusations of further debaucheries and unnamed sins against good Christian womanhood and morals the likes of which would make Bill Clinton's head spin.
A nice coda to that story, though - Cleveland openly admitted to fathering the child (and providing support to the mother afterwards), believing that the truth was the best defense against smears. It also helped that his opponent had not only despoiled a girl in his youth, but was forced to marry her at shotgun-point - hardly one who should be criticizing a man for his youthful indiscretions. When Cleveland won re-election, his followers took up the Republicans' taunting chant with a retort laced with schadenfreude - "Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Which brings me to the third reason why it's valuable to study history - it helps you gain perspective. The United States is going through some trying times right now, and if you pay attention to the blogs and the cable news networks, you might believe that these are indeed the worst of times. That having a sitting governor traipse down to Argentina for a little Latin loving is the nadir of morality. That having a news organization foment protest rallies and marches is the height of unethical behavior. That accusing your white opponent of having fathered a black child, or spending some private time with a White House intern, or making IM passes at teenage boys are all signs that America is on a one-way trip to hell, even if we can't afford the handbasket.
History is the antidote to the common belief that the times in which we live must be special. Every generation thinks it - that I am here, therefore the events of my times must be the most important events to have ever happened. It's egocentric and very, very human, but - and this is important - it's not true. There is nothing special or different about the times in which we live, because human nature hasn't changed. For every scandal we see to day that frightens or enrages or disgusts us, you can look to history to see that it's already been done, and done worse. History provides perspective, and it offers hope. The country has seen a lot of bad things in its time, but it has survived. It has seen abuse of civil rights that were far more egregious than anything that happened after 9/11 and it has survived. It has seen civil unrest that makes the Tea Partiers or the G20 protesters look like sulky children - and it has survived.
So turn off the TV, step away from the computer and pick up a good history book - like this one - and let your worries settle down to a much more manageable size. You'll thank yourself for it.
July 31, 2025
It’s been some time since I read his other book but I think the royals were more interesting. Or maybe I’m just desensitized on what constitutes a scandal.
November 10, 2025
i love mess.
December 2, 2024
Solid little vignettes on famous Americans, made for a perfect audiobook for swimming.
August 7, 2016
I loved this book. I'm a history buff and even I didn't know all these tales. It shows us that the US became great despite ourselves It should remind us everyone is human and makes mistakes(even our heros). We should keep in mind that the one over arching petard upon which almost everyone gets hoisted, is hubris, doing things for their own benefits thinking they are above the law or the moral codes of the time. There are exceptions of course. Some get caught in events beyond their abilities and some could have taken whole books. The Salem girls, Andrew Jackson, Richard Nixon and others were mean just for mean's sake and show why we have checks and balances for our public actions. All in all, I thought it was a most interesting and fun book to remind us that there are always scandals, tales and gossip that keep history fascinating!
October 11, 2016
I have enjoyed all of the books that I have read by Michael Farquhar. He always entertains as he informs. I thought this book great right from the beginning section on dysfunctional families. In fact, I found myself wanting to know more about them, especially Mary Todd Lincoln. I will be sure to find a biography or two about her to read next. The chapter on feuds was fascinating as well. I enjoyed the chapters on Presidents and the Hall of Shame. I learned things as I both snickered and shook my head. When I got to the chapter that mentioned the Salem Witch Trials, I again began searching for more nonfiction to supplement my growing interest. This book held within its pages a great blend of history's misfortunes. I also found the timeline at the end useful and informative.
April 1, 2018
You know, I found that a lot of what's happening today isn't new. It's all happened before. Bringing to mind the phrase history is doomed to repeat itself. In any case, we don't hear a lot about the scandalous side of history, unless it's a major issue, generally, it's about all the good and how far we've come. This book shows how far we've yet to go.
The narrator was good, he put the right emphasis in the right places. And the stories were interesting. I liked the one about the origins of mother's day and how that came about. and I never knew MLK Jr. was on the FBI's watch list.
Recommended? Sure
Buy/Borrow? Borrow
The narrator was good, he put the right emphasis in the right places. And the stories were interesting. I liked the one about the origins of mother's day and how that came about. and I never knew MLK Jr. was on the FBI's watch list.
Recommended? Sure
Buy/Borrow? Borrow
September 6, 2011
I enjoyed this book, a dollar find at a YMCA book sale. While some of the scandals were familiar, others were shocking. I loved seeing the legends debunked. Benjamin Franklin, so famous for his lightning experiment, actually let his son run around in the field during the storm, while he watched from the shelter of a barn. Reading about all the hijinks and misbehavior of our country's leaders did renforce to me that we have invented nothing. Like it says on the back cover of the book, we just have better media coverage.
November 13, 2017
It's a fun recounting of the seedier side of U.S. culture. With today's foibles in the foreground, it is useful to understand that our past is full of ridiculous antics, deplorable ethics, and absurd action. I enjoyed the unblinking style of presentation. Spanning pre-colonial times to the end of the twentieth century, most of the entries are less than five pages. The experience is akin to a friend telling you, "You're not going to believe what I just learned!" Then after reading the nearly unbelievable, you begin questioning your understanding of our culture. It's very much the opposite of reading about equally unbelievable feats of heroism and courage.
I think we focus on both extremes and are asked to believe that only one is true. But most of our lives are a mix of rising to some challenges and failing at others. It is useful to remember that we are all flawed, and it is unwise to put our leaders on pedestals. The worst behavior should be condemned, of course. This book has loads of examples!
What is equally fascinating but not dwelled upon is the various contemporary reactions to the atrocities. The exception is the chapter on the Salem witch hunt of 1692. It is the longest chapter in the book and one of the most jaw-dropping. The complicity of the population is a reminder of how far afield a community can drift.
I think we focus on both extremes and are asked to believe that only one is true. But most of our lives are a mix of rising to some challenges and failing at others. It is useful to remember that we are all flawed, and it is unwise to put our leaders on pedestals. The worst behavior should be condemned, of course. This book has loads of examples!
What is equally fascinating but not dwelled upon is the various contemporary reactions to the atrocities. The exception is the chapter on the Salem witch hunt of 1692. It is the longest chapter in the book and one of the most jaw-dropping. The complicity of the population is a reminder of how far afield a community can drift.
July 15, 2022
Okay enough to finish. Some interesting previously unknown anecdotes but my take away is that politicians have always sucked hard, and when you rarely get one with integrity their opponents tear them down like wild animals. Wasteful stupid wild animals who don't even eat their kill, just leave it for the tabloids to display.
May 29, 2023
The last section or two of the book wasn't horrible. I think the first few sections were bogged down by frequent block quotes from the 19th century. The language they used wasn't always conducive to pity and biting remarks. Some of the scandals weren't very surprising- You mean Nixon was paranoid and not a nice person?
February 24, 2020
Powerful men are powerfully petty and lame. Everything about modern politics makes so much more sense when you learn the things that have been left out of the history taught in public schools in order to make the myth of the USA possible, tidy, and clean.
March 29, 2020
“Treasury of Great American Scandals” defines the term “scandals” pretty loosely. It is filled with interesting anecdotes of adultery, murder, conspiracies, and vicious campaigning. Some of the stories are more interesting than others, but the writing is breezy and fun.
January 24, 2021
I have never been someone who enjoys learning about American History. This book makes it fun and actually makes me want to learn more! Absolutely love his books and will continue to read them in the future!
October 1, 2022
I really feel as though I needed to know my history better to follow along with this book. The author definitely assumes the reader has a fairly good base knowledge of the presidents which I do not have.
January 3, 2019
Wow, just wow.
March 7, 2019
This is definitely an amusing way to look at history.
June 30, 2019
absolutely love learning about this stuff! well written, too, and it definitely made me laugh.
December 12, 2019
great diversion into untold polititical scandals
December 29, 2019
This book is full of history that I never learned in school. It has duels, grudges, and moving corpses.It was well written and made this historical people come alive with all their faults!
January 9, 2020
Some of these stories I had read about before. It was fun to read. I guess things haven't changed too much.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews