A collection of 101 historical short stories by Dr. Wayne Winterton, the award-winning author of Stories from History's Dust Bin. The stories feature unusual or forgotten facts, and more, in the lives of the famous, the infamous, and the obscure.
The stories are short, about five to ten minutes reading time per story, and there is no "right way" to read the book. You can start at the beginning and read to the end, or pick and choose the stories that interest you most, taking an occasional side trip to expand your knowledge when you're feeling adventuresome.
The book opens with a story about Johnny Ace who could have been America's first Rock 'n' Roll star had he not died of an accidental or intentional gunshot to the head in 1954; and closes with a story about Frank Zamboni, the very persistent and creative man behind the machine that resurfaces the ice between hockey periods.
Between the Ace-to-Zamboni bookends, are ninety-nine more fascinating, easy-to-read stories. There's the story of Joshua Chamberlain, whose singular action near the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, resulted in his being called the knightliest soldier of the Civil War; and the story of Rosalie Duthe (1748-1830), who holds the dubious honor of being the world's first officially certifiable dumb blonde; and the story of Moulton Taylor who designed and built a flying car that was approved by the Civil Aeronautics Authority in 1950, a car that got off the ground and flew into television and aviation history - and will forever be a prime example of American ingenuity.
The stories are often surprising, always interesting and guaranteed entertaining, perfect for curled-up nighttime reading, convalescing, when traveling on vacation, whenever a good read is in order.
