Product Description

History isn't always made by great armies colliding or by great civilizations rising or falling. Sometimes it's made when a chauffeur takes a wrong turn, a scientist forgets to clean up his lab, or a drunken soldier gets a bit rowdy. That's the kind of history you'll find in The Greatest Stories Never Told.

This is history candy -- the good stuff. Here are 100 tales to astonish, bewilder, and stupefy: more than two thousand years of history filled with courage, cowardice, hope, triumph, sex, intrigue, folly, humor, and ambition. It's a historical delight and a visual feast with hundreds of photographs, drawings, and maps that bring each story to life. A new discovery waits on every page: stories that changed the course of history and stories that affected what you had for breakfast this morning.

Consider:

• The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock because they ran out of beer
• Some Roman officials were so corrupt that they actually stole time itself
• Three cigars changed the course of the Civil War
• The Scottish kilt was invented by an Englishman

Based on the popular Timelab 2000® history minutes hosted by Sam Waterston on The History Channel®, this collection of fascinating historical tidbits will have you shaking your head in wonder and disbelief. But they're all true. And you'll soon find yourself telling them to your friends.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3363 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-01
• Released on: 2003-03-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

About the Author

Rick Beyer is a lifelong history enthusiast and an award-winning documentary producer whose work for The History Channel^® includes Godspeed to Jamestown, The Wright Challenge, and the Timelab 2000 series of history minutes. He lives with his wife and two children in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Fun stuff!
A great little book to have around for a quick few minutes of reading. The stories are presented in a short form that provide just enough reading to fill a boring few minutes.

Yummy!
I devoured this book in one sitting! What fun to learn obscure facts! If you enjoy learning the quirky side of history, you'll love all of these books.

Good account of small historical facts
For what it is, this was a very informative book of little bits of historical facts. I was hoping for a little more in depth look at some of the things contained, but overall, I thought it was very well done. I did notice some small errors within the book, but nothing that takes away from the book as a whole. I did enjoy the book, and think it could be a great book even for younger readers, or parents and children together.