Historical Blunders

Historical Blunders PDF Author: Geoffrey Regan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
Ranging from classical Greece and Rome to the Cold War era, the author takes readers on a lively tour of historical mishaps and miscalculations, from the Dutch prince who set up his own death to the Romanian dictator who made his dog a colonel in the army.

Historical Blunders

Historical Blunders PDF Author: Geoffrey Regan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ranging from classical Greece and Rome to the Cold War era, the author takes readers on a lively tour of historical mishaps and miscalculations, from the Dutch prince who set up his own death to the Romanian dictator who made his dog a colonel in the army.

100 Mistakes that Changed History

100 Mistakes that Changed History PDF Author: Bill Fawcett
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101443677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
Collected in one volume, here are backfires and blunders that collapsed empires, crashed economies, and altered the course of the world. From the Maginot Line to the Cuban Missile Crisis, history is filled with bad moves and not-so-bright ideas that snowballed into disasters and unintended consequences. This engrossing book looks at one hundred such tipping points. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The Caliphs of Baghdad spend themselves into bankruptcy. The Aztecs greet the Conquistadors with open arms. Mexico invites the Americans to Texas-and the Americans never leave. And the rest is history...

Brilliant Blunders

Brilliant Blunders PDF Author: Mario Livio
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439192383
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Drawing on the lives of five great scientists, this “scholarly, insightful, and beautifully written book” (Martin Rees, author of From Here to Infinity) illuminates the path to scientific discovery. Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein all made groundbreaking contributions to their fields—but each also stumbled badly. Darwin’s theory of natural selection shouldn’t have worked, according to the prevailing beliefs of his time. Lord Kelvin gravely miscalculated the age of the earth. Linus Pauling, the world’s premier chemist, constructed an erroneous model for DNA in his haste to beat the competition to publication. Astrophysicist Fred Hoyle dismissed the idea of a “Big Bang” origin to the universe (ironically, the caustic name he gave to this event endured long after his erroneous objections were disproven). And Albert Einstein speculated incorrectly about the forces of the universe—and that speculation opened the door to brilliant conceptual leaps. As Mario Livio luminously explains in this “thoughtful meditation on the course of science itself” (The New York Times Book Review), these five scientists expanded our knowledge of life on earth, the evolution of the earth, and the evolution of the universe, despite and because of their errors. “Thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully written” (The Washington Post), Brilliant Blunders is a wonderfully insightful examination of the psychology of five fascinating scientists—and the mistakes as well as the achievements that made them famous.

Churchfails

Churchfails PDF Author: David K. Stabnow
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 1433608146
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
churchfails is a collection of 100 articles describing people who claim to be Christians doing foolish things. Each article will include a picture of the subject. From the Introduction: "Groucho Marx once said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” If Christianity is a club, it has featured innumerable inglorious members. As abashed affiliates of said club, what can we do? We can try to deny our past and present peccadilloes, but covering up a crime is like poking a polecat—it’s worse in the end. So, we can rant and rave, or we can laugh and learn. This book settles on the second strategy."

Scientific Blunders

Scientific Blunders PDF Author: R. M. Youngson
Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub
ISBN: 9780786705948
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Covers the flat earth theory, the Piltdown Man, the Tay bridge collapse, Chernobyl, cold fusion, and the Hubble space telescope mistake.

Literary Blunders

Literary Blunders PDF Author: Henry Benjamin Wheatley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Common fallacies
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description


The Guinness Book of Historical Blunders

The Guinness Book of Historical Blunders PDF Author: Geoffrey Regan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780851127859
Category : Errors, Popular
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description


Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders

Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders PDF Author: Rob Neyer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416592148
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
BLOOPER: BALL SQUIRTS THROUGH BILLY BUCKNER'S LEGS. BLUNDER: BILLY BUCKNER'S MANAGER LEFT HIM IN THE GAME. Baseball bloopers are fun; they're funny, even. A pitcher slips on the mound and his pitch sails over the backstop. An infielder camps under a pop-up...and the ball lands ten feet away. An outfielder tosses a souvenir to a fan...but that was just the second out, and runners are circling the bases (and laughing). Without these moments, the highlight reels wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Baseball blunders, however, can be tragic, and they will leave diehard fans asking why...why...why? Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders does its best to answer all those whys, exploring the worst decisions and stupidest moments of managers, general managers, owners, and even commissioners. As he did in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups, Rob Neyer provides readers with a fascinating examination of baseball's rich history, this time through the lens of the game's sometimes hilarious, often depressing, and always perplexing blunders. · Which ill-fated move cost the Chicago White Sox a great hitter and the 1919 World Series? · What was Babe Ruth thinking when he became the first (and still the only) player to end a World Series by getting caught trying to steal? · Did playing one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 cost the Browns a pennant? · How did winning a coin toss lead to the Dodgers losing the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'round the World"? · How damaging was the Frank Robinson-for-Milt Pappas deal, really? · Which of Red Sox manager Don Zimmer's mistakes in 1978 was the worst? · Which Yankees trade was even worse than swapping Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps? · What non-move cost Buck Showalter a job and gave Joe Torre the opportunity of a lifetime? · Game 7, 2003 ALCS: Pedro winds up to throw his 123rd pitch...what were you thinking? These are just a few of the legendary (and not-so-legendary) blunders that Neyer analyzes, always with an eye on what happened, why it happened, and how it changed the fickle course of history. And in separate chapters, Neyer also reviews some of the game's worst trades and draft picks and closely examines all the teams that fell just short of first place. Another in the series of Neyer's Big Books of baseball history, Baseball Blunders should win a place in every devoted fan's library.

Great Naval Blunders

Great Naval Blunders PDF Author: Geoffrey Regan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780233005102
Category : Marine accidents
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Who was responsible for the design of the Admiral Popov, the circular Russian battleship that wouldn't steer straight? Why did Lord Ansonset set out to circumnavigate the world with a crew of Chelsea pensioners? And how did the British cruiser HMS Trinidad manage to torpedo itself in the Arctic? The answers to these questions and details of numerous other entertaining and unbelievable historical events are revealed in this absorbing survey of naval incompetence from Roman times to the Falklands War. Geoffrey Regan certainly sets out to prove that there is truth in the old adage "Worse things happen at sea." Crammed with intriguing and often bizarre anecdotes and more than 50 illuminating illustrations, Great Naval Blunders takes a serious, but often entertaining, look at the misjudgments and oversights of captains, fleet commanders, strategic planners, and ship designers over the ages. Peppered with quotes from those who did their utmost (albeit unwittingly) to hinder naval progress, this entertaining and instructive book will appeal to the naval enthusiast and general reader alike.

Lies, Damned Lies and History

Lies, Damned Lies and History PDF Author: Graeme Donald
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752462350
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
From cats, spats and catacombs to the Wall Street shuffle, this book looks at how historical events didn't always unfold as we think they did. It takes the readers on a journey, century-by-century, showing how the truth we take for granted is a far cry from the facts. It is suitable for those who want to see the past as it was.