On This Day in History [Paperback]

Leonard Spinrad (Author), Thelma Spinrad (Author), Anistatia Miller; Jared Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

This unique resource will answer the above question and give the reader much more information, besides. Sure to appeal to history afficionados, trivia buffs, and the insatiably curious, this singular reference provides a wealth of information, including quotations, humorous commentary, and historical facts about the more than 1,500 events listed throughout the year. Many of the events are cross-referenced with corresponding relevant dates, giving the reader even more insight into the significance of the event, straight from the pages of history.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This unusual historical roundup takes the significant events of the world one day at a time, starting with January 1 (a day on which Paul Revere was born in 1735; Betsy Ross was born in 1752; the U.S. Congress officially prohibited African slave trade in 1808; Brooklyn merged with Manhattan in 1898; and the colonies of Cyranaica, Tripoli, and Eezaan united to form Libya in 1935) and wending its way through the next 364 days to December 31, when Thomas Edison first demonstrated his electric incandescent light bulb to the public in 1879; and President Truman officially proclaimed an end to World War II in 1946.

The book is appealing for a variety of reasons. Because it doesn't take a chronological approach to history, each event stands out in its own illuminating limelight. You notice it and think about it more freshly, which lets you see it for the accomplishment it is rather than as just another occurrence in the progression of time. On This Day functions nicely as a reference book, in that the index will refer you to the appropriate page for any of more than 1,500 events, where you can discover not only what day of the year it took place but also get a full description of what happened and its context. This book charms most, however, as a browsing book; there's fascination in the juxtaposition of unrelated events, joined merely by happenstance on the same day, though years and worlds apart. Open the book randomly and you find October 14th, with the Battle of Hastings (1066) and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964 and to Elie Wiesel in 1986, while on the next page, October 15th, P.G. Wodehouse was born in 1881 and the first draft card was burned in 1965. You'll probably want to check your birthday for other notables who share your date, but after that you're free to riffle through the pages of history and have some fun. --Stephanie Gold

About the Author

The late Leonard Spinrad was a winner of the Prestigious Anvil Award of the American Public Relations Association. Thelma Spinrad published and edited an influential newsletter used by newspaper and magazine editors. Anistatia R. Miller is a former president of the New York Art Directors Club. Jared M. Brown is a writer for the Art Director's Annual. They both live in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press; Revised edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735200645
• ISBN-13: 978-0735200647
• Product Dimensions: 3.3 x 3.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and engaging!, November 30, 1999

By 

Jason P (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On This Day in History (Paperback)

I love the fact that the authors give details behind the events on each of the days. It's thoroughly researched and well-written. It makes this book very hard to put down.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unsuitable for intended use, July 12, 2001

By 

Frank (Stockton CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On This Day in History (Paperback)

I was disappointed in this book. As an earlier review notes, it _appears_ to be "thoroughly researched," but it's full of errors. Just leafing through the book, with no further research, a number of mistakes jump out.
Among the mistakes - the authors say "the US Air Force" dropped the bomb on Hiroshima; the US Air Force wasn't in existence yet - it was the Army Air Forces that dropped the bomb. The authors twice say the atomic bomb was "tested at Los Alamos"; no - the atomic bomb was developed at Los Alamos, but tested 175 miles away near Carrizozo NM. The authors twice, again, report that Nero was "the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned (in 37 AD)" - a neat trick, considering the violin wasn't invented for another 1500 years or so. The authors twice tell us that Tenzing Norkay accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on Everest; the name is Norgay. The authors tell us that Edmund Hillary said he climbed "because it's there"; it wasn't Hillary, but George Mallory, some 35 years earlier, who gave that response.
Many of the entries gloss over, or over-simplify, the facts. For instance, the authors truthfully attribute "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" to Admiral Farragut; however, they don't tell us that the "torpedoes" of that day were not self-propelled, but what we would call mines. Whitely's _The Teacher's Calendar_ fills in the missing relevant information.
On historical events such as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, Whitely gives more background than these authors.
On other events, such as the seizing of the Amistad, _This Day in History_ is silent, while Whitely's book gives a detailed discussion.
Another example of gloss is the authors' report that Galileo "created a telescope so he could observe the heavens." Galileo certainly improved the telescope, but he didn't invent it.
The unwarranted, even "cutesy," conclusions the authors frequently draw hamper the usefulness of this book. The authors tell us that at Hiroshima "we learned that man had no control over the terrible might of the microscopic atom." In fact, man showed his ability to control atomic forces at Hiroshima, and you can't see atoms through a microscope anyway.
The authors say that the USSR/Nazi Germany non-aggression pact was "the fuse that ignited the Second World War." Elsewhere the authors tell us that WWII "was ignited when Germany invaded Poland." The statements are contradictory and simplistic.
Of course, the book does have its moments - there are a number of stories which appear to be detailed, correct, and interesting. Yet these have limited use, since the reader has to verify every part of the story, in view of the authors' frequent errors on other entries. Am I being too picky? I don't think so - not with a book which certainly intends to be used as an accurate source of history.
You might consider this book for the limited use of knowing a few events that happened on each day, accepting that the book's facts may be wrong and its conclusions unmerited. This book could certainly use some good editing and fact-checking.
A _much_ better book for the classroom, or parent, is Sandy Whiteley's _The Teacher's Calendar: School Year 2001-2002_. Not only is Whitely much more accurate, but she includes many more events per day, and frequently more information on each event than these authors do.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On This Day in History, February 6, 2000

By 

lori scott (oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On This Day in History (Paperback)

As a home-educating mom, I am constantly on the lookout for non-textbook, non-traditional ways to introduce my children to historical events and people. This book fits the bill to a T! It is a simple and painless way to learn a little bit about a lot of things and has sparked some great discussions in the short time that we have been reading it. A must for all home educators!