When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain
History's Unknown Chapters
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Obscure and addictive true tales from history told by one of our most entertaining historians, Giles Milton
The first installment in Giles Milton's outrageously entertaining series, History's Unknown Chapters: colorful and accessible, intelligent and illuminating, Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from the past.
There's the cook aboard the Titanic, who pickled himself with whiskey and survived in the icy seas where most everyone else died. There's the man who survived the atomic bomb in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And there's many, many more.
Covering everything from adventure, war, murder and slavery to espionage, including the stories of the female Robinson Crusoe, Hitler's final hours, Japan's deadly balloon bomb and the emperor of the United States, these tales deserve to be told.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With an easily digestible mix of humor, trivia, and solid research, Milton (Nathaniel's Nutmeg) introduces a new series focused on examining bizarre and oft-forgotten historical episodes. He highlights dozens of seemingly too-good-to-be-true tales, including those of Charles Joughin, a baker who survived the sinking of the Titanic by drinking an enormous amount of whiskey (some say two bottles); Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker who smuggled some 2,500 Jewish children to safety during WWII; and Dutch seaman Volkert Evertszoon, who along, with his shipwrecked compatriots, is likely responsible for the extinction of the dodo bird. Readers will likely be surprised to find out that some apocryphal-sounding stories such as that of the Japanese soldier who continued to fight WWII decades after it had ended are true, and Milton provides sources for those interested in pursuing matters further. Though some of these stories have been told many times (the infamous escape from Alcatraz, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, the use of the Navajo language to foil Nazi code breakers, and the daring capture of Adolf Eichmann), there are plenty of fabulously dramatic adventures here that are less well known. Milton's entertaining collection is sure to leave readers waiting for the next volume in the series.
Customer Reviews
Very Readable
I'm a long time fan of Milton and this collection did not disappoint although it is a just a collection of short tales.I'm hoping for more substantial Titles along the lines of Nathaniel's Nutmeg in the future.. I know there are a thousand more rollicking stories out there that deserve the Milton touch!