Summary of Michael Farquhar's Bad Days in History

Summary of Michael Farquhar's Bad Days in History PDF Author: Everest Media,
Publisher: Everest Media LLC
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 New Year’s is a day filled with new hope and fresh starts, except for those who are unfortunate enough to live during the New Year. For some people, January 1 was a dead end. #2 Timothy Pickering was an early American pest. He was so obnoxious that even his own biographer couldn’t stand him. But he was the first senator to be censured for telling the truth. #3 Ronald Wayne, the co-founder of Apple Computers, was a lucky man when he was set free from the company in 1977. He had been given a 10 percent stake to serve as Apple’s parent, but he felt that the risk was too great. Instead, he sold stamps and coins out of his mobile home in Nevada. #4 The War of Currents was a fight between Edison’s direct current system and Nikola Tesla’s alternating current system. It was a vicious campaign to discredit the rival system, and it culminated in the public execution of a convicted ax murderer named William Kemmler in 1890.

Summary of Michael Farquhar's Bad Days in History

Summary of Michael Farquhar's Bad Days in History PDF Author: Everest Media,
Publisher: Everest Media LLC
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 80

Get Book Here

Book Description
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 New Year’s is a day filled with new hope and fresh starts, except for those who are unfortunate enough to live during the New Year. For some people, January 1 was a dead end. #2 Timothy Pickering was an early American pest. He was so obnoxious that even his own biographer couldn’t stand him. But he was the first senator to be censured for telling the truth. #3 Ronald Wayne, the co-founder of Apple Computers, was a lucky man when he was set free from the company in 1977. He had been given a 10 percent stake to serve as Apple’s parent, but he felt that the risk was too great. Instead, he sold stamps and coins out of his mobile home in Nevada. #4 The War of Currents was a fight between Edison’s direct current system and Nikola Tesla’s alternating current system. It was a vicious campaign to discredit the rival system, and it culminated in the public execution of a convicted ax murderer named William Kemmler in 1890.

Bad Days in History

Bad Days in History PDF Author: Michael Farquhar
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426212682
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description
"Farquhar's ... entries draw from the full sweep of history to take readers through a complete year of misery, including tales of lost fortunes (like the would-be Apple investor who pulled out in 1977 and missed out on a $30 billion-dollar windfall), romance gone wrong (like the 16th-century Shah who experimented with an early form of Viagra with empire-changing results), and truly bizarre moments (like the Great Molasses Flood of 1919)"--

A Treasury of Great American Scandals

A Treasury of Great American Scandals PDF Author: Michael Farquhar
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780142001929
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
Following on the heels of his national bestseller A Treasury of Royal Scandals, Michael Farquhar turns his attention to matters a little closer to home with A Treasury of Great American Scandals. From the unhappy family relationships of prominent Americans to the feuds, smear campaigns, duels, and infamous sex scandals that have punctuated our history, we see our founding fathers and other American heroes in the course of their all-too-human events. Ineffectual presidents, lazy generals, traitors; treacherous fathers, nagging mothers, ungrateful children, embarrassing siblings; and stories about insanity, death, and disturbing postmortems are all here, as are disagreeable marriages, vile habits, and, of course, sex: good sex, bad sex, and good-bad sex too. We can take comfort in the fact that we are no worse and no better than our forebears. But we do have better media coverage. Bonus educational material: A brief history of the United States, including scandals! The American Hall of Shame! A complete listing of presidential administrations!

A Treasury of Royal Scandals

A Treasury of Royal Scandals PDF Author: Michael Farquhar
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780140280241
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
From Nero's nagging mother (whom he found especially annoying after taking her as his lover) to Catherine's stable of studs (not of the equine variety), here is a wickedly delightful look at the most scandalous royal doings you never learned about in history class. Gleeful, naughty, sometimes perverted-like so many of the crowned heads themselves-A Treasury of Royal Scandals presents the best (the worst?) of royal misbehavior through the ages. From ancient Rome to Edwardian England, from the lavish rooms of Versailles to the dankest corners of the Bastille, the great royals of Europe have excelled at savage parenting, deadly rivalry, pathological lust, and meeting death with the utmost indignity-or just very bad luck.

Bad Days in History

Bad Days in History PDF Author: Michael Farquhar
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
ISBN: 1426212801
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
National Geographic author Michael Farquhar uncovers an instance of bad luck, epic misfortune, and unadulterated mayhem tied to every day of the year. From Caligula's blood-soaked end to hotelier Steve Wynn's unfortunate run-in with a priceless Picasso, these 365 tales of misery include lost fortunes (like the would-be Apple investor who pulled out in 1977 and missed out on a $30 billion-dollar windfall), romance gone wrong (like the 16th-century Shah who experimented with an early form of Viagra with empire-changing results), and truly bizarre moments (like the Great Molasses Flood of 1919). Think you’re having a bad day? Trust us, it gets worse.

How George Washington Fleeced the Nation

How George Washington Fleeced the Nation PDF Author: Phil Mason
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1616080752
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Collects obscure trivia about historical figures, from President Lyndon Johnson's poor phone etiquette to Albert Einstein's habit of forgetting his shoes.

The Hinge Factor

The Hinge Factor PDF Author: Erik Durschmied
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 1628721774
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
From the wooden horse at Troy to a harrowing photograph snapped in Vietnam, from Robert E. Lee’s lost battle plans to the evacuation of Dunkirk, world history has been shaped as much by chance and error as by courage and heroism. Time and again, invincible armies fall to weaker opponents in the face of impossible odds, when the outcome had seemed a foregone conclusion. How and why does this happen? What is it that decides the fate of battle? Writing with the style and flair that has made him an award-winning war correspondent, Durschmied takes us through the major battles of history, from the battlefields of ancient Greece to the Gulf War. In a series of gripping narratives, he vividly recreates the crucial events in all their mayhem and confusion while pointing out the decisive moments that changed the course of history. We see Agincourt, where rain combined with French arrogance to give Henry V the day; the Crimea, where a badly worded order led to the disastrous charge of the Light Brigade; and colonial Africa, where an attack by African killer bees, described by the London Times as Germany’s secret weapon, repulsed an Allied invasion. And in a chilling epilogue, we are given a disturbing glimpse of the secret attempt by Libya to buy atomic weapons from China for use against Israel. Drawing from a variety of sources, including personal accounts such as soldiers’ diaries and letters home, The Hinge Factor is an instructive, fascinating look at how the unpredictable, the absurd, and the bizarre have shaped the face of history in war.

Secret Lives of the Tsars

Secret Lives of the Tsars PDF Author: Michael Farquhar
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812979052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
“Michael Farquhar doesn’t write about history the way, say, Doris Kearns Goodwin does. He writes about history the way Doris Kearns Goodwin’s smart-ass, reprobate kid brother might. I, for one, prefer it.”—Gene Weingarten, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the world’s most engaging royal historian chronicles the world’s most fascinating imperial dynasty: the Romanovs, whose three-hundred-year reign was remarkable for its shocking violence, spectacular excess, and unimaginable venality. In this incredibly entertaining history, Michael Farquhar collects the best, most captivating true tales of Romanov iniquity. We meet Catherine the Great, with her endless parade of virile young lovers (none of them of the equine variety); her unhinged son, Paul I, who ordered the bones of one of his mother’s paramours dug out of its grave and tossed into a gorge; and Grigori Rasputin, the “Mad Monk,” whose mesmeric domination of the last of the Romanov tsars helped lead to the monarchy’s undoing. From Peter the Great’s penchant for personally beheading his recalcitrant subjects (he kept the severed head of one of his mistresses pickled in alcohol) to Nicholas and Alexandra’s brutal demise at the hands of the Bolsheviks, Secret Lives of the Tsars captures all the splendor and infamy that was Imperial Russia. Praise for Secret Lives of the Tsars “An accessible, exciting narrative . . . Highly recommended for generalists interested in Russian history and those who enjoy the seamier side of past lives.”—Library Journal (starred review) “An excellent condensed version of Russian history . . . a fine tale of history and scandal . . . sure to please general readers and monarchy buffs alike.”—Publishers Weekly “Tales from the nasty lives of global royalty . . . an easy-reading, lightweight history lesson.”—Kirkus Reviews “Readers of this book may get a sense of why Russians are so tolerant of tyrants like Stalin and Putin. Given their history, it probably seems normal.”—The Washington Post

A Treasury of Deception

A Treasury of Deception PDF Author: Michael Farquhar
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780143035442
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
We may say that honesty is the best policy, but history—to say nothing of business, politics, and the media—suggests otherwise. In this infinitely citable book, the author of two bestselling treasuries of scandal recounts some of the greatest deceptions of all time. With what forged document did the Vatican lay claim to much of Europe? Who wrote Hitler’s diaries? Why do millions still believe the vague doggerel that Nostradamus passed off as prophecy? Organizing his material by theme (con artists, the press, military trickery, scientific fraud, imposters, great escapes, and more), Michael Farquhar takes in everything from the hoodwinking of Hitler to Vincent “the Chin” Gigante’s thirty-year crazy act. A Treasury of Deception is a zestful, gossipy exposé—and celebration—of mendacity. A Treasury of Deception also includes: Ten tricksters from scripture Ten great liars in literature Ten egregious examples of modern American doublespeak Ten classic deceptions from Greek mythology

Princesses Behaving Badly

Princesses Behaving Badly PDF Author: Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
Publisher: Quirk Books
ISBN: 1594746656
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
These 30 true stories of take-charge princesses from around the world and throughout history offer a different kind of bedtime story . . . Pop history meets a funny, feminist point-of-view in these illustrated tales of “royal terrors who make modern gossip queens seem as demure as Snow White” (New York Post). You think you know her story. You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, and you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after. But real princesses didn’t always get happy endings—and had very little in common with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, or Ariel. Featuring illustrations by Wicked cover artist, Douglas Smith, Princesses Behaving Badly tells the true stories of famous (Marie Antoinette; Lucrezia Borgia)—and some not-so-famous—princesses throughout history and around the world, including: • Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe, a Nazi spy. • Empress Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who slept wearing a mask of raw veal. • Princess Olga of Kiev, who slaughtered her way to sainthood. • Princess Lakshmibai, who waged war on the battlefield with her toddler strapped to her back. Some were villains, some were heroes, some were just plain crazy. But none of these princesses felt constrained to our notions of “lady-like” behavior.