Customer Reviews

The Greatest Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Beyer is an author who is dedicated to making history interesting and fun, which he does so well in this collection of one page stories. I found the book especially interesting because of the background work the author had put into his research (the imprint of the History Channel did not hurt either) which raised these tidbits above the normal trivia, or potential urban legends. Beyer highlights some things that should not be lost in the mists of history, and points out historical facts that may be glossed over in many other history books. There is nothing earth shattering here, but more than a few will make you scratch your head, or share with others in conversation. A great book for dipping your toe in history - each story is about a page of text and is well illustrated. There is just enough to get you the interesting point without boring you. It's a truly fun and fascinating book.

This is not a coffee-table book, it's a briefcase book, a bathroom book, a bedside book, a stuck-in-traffic book. It's a book for dads and kids, a book for teachers and students, a book for priests and ministers (great sermon material!), and a great gift for practically everyone. My personal favorite involves what Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp were doing during the 1920s--I won't give away the story but Wyatt was in Hollywood and Bat was in Manhattan! It's clear that the author is not a student of history, he's a lover of history, and the enthusiasm and excitement with which he approaches his subject comes through on every page.

I always hated history in school -- and I hardly ever watch the History Channel -- so I approached this book with great trepidation. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself paging eagerly through the well-written, highly entertaining historical vignettes (each one takes up a mere two pages, perfect for subway reading). Some of them made me laugh out loud; once I had to fight the urge to turn to the stranger next to me and ask if he knew what had killed Atilla the Hun. (I'm not telling.) Although not written for kids particularly, this is also a great book to share with older children . . . especially those who complain that history is dull.

I'm an avid reader of history, as well as processing a degree in the subject. So imagine my surprise when, after receiving this book from a friend of mine for Christmas, I read the erroneous account of the Children's Crusade of 1212. I had done research on this topic, so I was horrified to read the completely inaccurate account of what occurred. Had the author not read any historical analysis on the subject from the last 50 years? If he had, he would have realized that there were actually two crusades - one consisting of mainly French people led by Stephen of Cloyes who, when told to turn back by King Philip II, did so. That ended that crusade. The other one, led by a shepherd from Germany named Nicholas, led a group across the Alps into Italy. Some left for home while others continued on to Rome. It's interesting to note that in Rome, many received dispensations from their crusading vows because these "children" were either too old or because they were pregnant. Perhaps until relatively recently, people believed in the Children's Crusade because it represented a morality play or because some historians gave too much credit to chronicles (like Chronica Albrici monachi Trium Fontium) which were written long after the crusade supposedly occurred, rather than relying on more contemporary sources. Nor did they realize that the latin word "pueri" used in the chronicles can have several meanings (such as unmarried men rather than children).

In the final analysis, you just can't rely on books like these to really teach you history. The best you can do is read what they tell you and then try to verify it. If only the author had bothered to check the History Channel's own account of the Children's Crusade on their website, or perhaps read the excellent paper done by Peter Raedts in the Journal of Medieval History, or even just checked out the brief but accurate entry online in wikipedia. The book gave two pages to this event, and sadly got it completely wrong.

For this gross oversight, I am compelled to give it one star. Readers of history, never just believe what you read - verify.

This is a fun little book for anyone from 8 to 80,who likes to read history.It is more like the kind of stuff you see in Ripley's Believe it or Not,Strange but True,Interesting Facts,etc.There are 100 stories covered in 200 pages and half of that is pictures.One can skip through this book in an hour or two without difficulty.I guess most people would find it just a light read;but there is a real good reference section for anyone who wants to see the source or basis of any of these stories.
Stories are from all over the map and cover from B.C.to the present time .Some of the things you'll find:

Saint Patrick was an Englishman by birth.

The music for "The Star-Spangled Banner" was from a popular
English drinking song.

Where did the term "boycott"come from?

Did you know a US Warship fired a torpeo at another Warship carrying President Roosevelt, missing it by about 100 yards.

How a dead man duped Hitler.

And that's just for starters!

Oh Yeah, My title was a statement made by Tolstoy;who knew a thing or two about history.Then again,who knows,maybe he didn't say that at all.

What a great little book! Based on a series of History Minutes developed to air on The History Channel, every two-page spread of this little gem provides a short, easy-to-read and very interesting story-behind-the-story that most of us don't know.

The most interesting of these 100 brief stories are those in which one decision by one person ended up changing history and life as we know it, even today. Some of those include:
* Lost in Translation - where a poor word choice caused the first use of the atom bomb.
* BA-BUMP Goes the Stethoscope - about the doctor who invented it out of modesty.
* Cooking With Radar - about the invention of the microwave oven.

But the mix of story themes also keeps this book interesting, including insights into people we know by name without knowing much about them, like Proctor and Gamble, John Harvey Kellogg, Lionel of Lionel Trains fame, James Bond, and many more.

I also enjoyed it because it's easy to read 2 or 3 stories during lunch or just before dozing off at night. And, at the risk of sounding like a commercial, it's a great gift for kids who love to read because they'll have the inside scoop on many, many popular cutlure stories that their friends (and often teachers) won't know.

Enjoy.

History (with a capital H) is usually presented with the heavy thud of finality. But Mr. Beyer celebrates those moments when history turned on a whim, in this delightful bite-sized book. And so we discover that the Civil War changed its course thanks to three cigars, that the stethoscope was invented by a bashful physician, and that a sex goddess provided the know-how for cell phones.

Those who love history will find new bits to wonder over. And those of us who nodded off in class get to discover that history is, in fact, packed with the wonderful quirks of human nature. Mr. Beyer has collected a broad assortment of stories and tells them with wit and aplomb.

This book makes a great conversation starter. And probably a good gift for dads and graduates.

This book gives little snippets of history information. Each subject gets a few short, well-written paragraphs, plus a few accompanying illustrations. A lot of the stories are of the "If he'd only turned left instead of right, history would be different" genre.

This book has several limitations. For one thing, its view of "history" is pretty limited: most of the book involves events that took place in the last two centuries, mostly in or involving the United States, and mostly involving white men. Most of the stories are about inventions or war. The second limitation is that it's an overstatement to say these stories where "never told." I'd heard many before, and quite a few are common knowledge. Third, the entries are very brief and, while the author does cite his sources, he does not give any other resources for more information.

All that having been said, the entries are light and entertaining, and I did certainly learn some new things. Most trivia fans would probably enjoy this book.

A very entertaining collection of stories of unusual events and people from history. Arranged chronologicaly, starting with the Romans who stole time, and proceeding through such enthralling tales as the man who didn't discover America because he wanted to get home,and king Edward II' valiant but futile attempt to ban soccer (now I know why he was murdered, it was enraged footer fans). Some cherished myths are briskly disposed of, like the notion that medieval people thought the world was flat, and we learn that the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock because they'd run out of beer. A few of the stories in this book were known to me already, most weren't. At $12.57, that's only about 12 cents per fascinating fact, cheap at the price I would say. Who would you say was the most unlikely person to have saved the life of Abraham Lincoln's son? If you don't know already you need to buy this book.

If you are a freak for interesting tidbits about our kaleidoscopic world, this is a book I'd wager you'll read from cover to cover.

From the discovery of tobacco as a medicinal herb, to America's first president (no it may not have been Washington), to the invention of a stethoscope by a modest French doctor who didn't want to put his ear to the bosom of female patients, to the truth about the background of baseball (spoiler: its cricket for dummies, afterall :)), to the death of Attila the Hun which happened in quite a [boring] manner on his wedding night from a nosebleed while he was drunk, to a story of 3 cigars that may have helped the union side in the civil war....etc etc...this compilation is an absolute ripper.

It's chronicled sequentially from 46 BC to 1990 AD, very well researched (Beyer has worked with the Discovery and the History channels if I am not mistaken) and spiffy enough to open up on any page and get engrossed. Not the stuff of heavyweight history, this, but if this were taught in schools History just may have been the most popular period.

A highly recommended gem for your stash.