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| craziest moments in history: Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History Scott Andrew Selby, Greg Campbell, 2010 Tells the story with the gripping pace of a true-crime 'Ocean's Eleven.' The New York Post • Like a diamond, this true-life caper is clear, colorful, and brilliant. Publishers Weekly ★Starred Review★ The Antwerp Diamond Center was one of the most secure buildings in the world. With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds stored in its subterranean vault, it had to be. Located in the heart of Belgium's ultra-secure Antwerp Diamond District, it benefited from two police stations, armed patrols, extensive video surveillance, and vehicle barriers securing an area where 80 percent of the world's diamonds traded hands. But on February 15, 2003, a band of skilled Italian thieves — fronted by the charming Leonardo Notarbartolo, who spent over two years clandestinely casing the building — subverted every one of the Diamond Center's defenses and made off with a record amount of loot. Experts estimate they got away with nearly half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash and other valuables. They'd pulled off the biggest heist in history--everybody loves diamonds and they now had more than any thief before them. The robbers did it with stealth and smarts; no one was hurt or even threatened during what was quickly labeled the largest diamond heist in history. The bandits — members of a group of professional thieves known as The School of Turin — used cunning in lieu of violence, successfully evading security cameras, thwarting an array of electronic sensors, and penetrating a vault protected by a double-locked foot-thick steel door. Even when the police zeroed in on who committed the crime, how it was done remained a mystery, like something out of a heist movie or TV show. Flawless is a fast-paced global scavenger hunt uncovering the truth behind the daring Valentine's Day weekend heist. Tracking clues, sources, and documents throughout Europe — from seedy cafés in Turin, Italy to sleek diamond offices in Antwerp, Belgium — authors Scott Selby and Greg Campbell retrace Notarbartolo's careful discovery of the building's security flaws. They recreate the heist and its aftermath — detailing how the thieves brilliantly neutralized each element of the security protecting the Diamond Center's vault while inviting the readers into the secretive world of diamonds and diamond dealing. The result is a thrilling ride through the better-than-fiction heist of the century. Fans of caper books and movies will be in seventh heaven. Booklist ★Starred Review★ |
| craziest moments in history: Dark Tide Stephen Puleo, 2019-01-15 A new 100th anniversary edition of the only adult book on one of the odder disasters in US history—and the greed, disregard for poor immigrants, and lack of safety standards that led to it. Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters were playing cards in Boston’s North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like roaring surf, one of them said later. Like a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence, said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window—“Oh my God!” he shouted to the other men, “Run!” A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston’s waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour. It demolished wooden homes, even the brick fire station. The number of dead wasn’t known for days. It would be years before a landmark court battle determined who was responsible for the disaster. |
| craziest moments in history: Great Moments in Basketball History Matt Christopher, 2009-10-01 The history of basketball is chock-full of famous buzzer-beating shots, amazing game-saving plays, and thrilling maneuvers that defy gravity. All fans have their favorite memory, just as they have their favorite team and their favorite player. Now here's a book that offers a look back at more than fifteen of the sport's best moments. The Block, The Steal, The Shot. Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, Bird, Jordan, and James. Each entry captures the nail-biting tension of the minutes leading up to the play, as well as information about the superstar players that made them and the teams that they played for. Packed with facts and action, this is a book young basketball fans will reach for again and again -- and because it comes from Matt Christopher, young readers know they're getting the best sports writing on the shelf. |
| craziest moments in history: 100 Yards of Glory Joe Garner, Bob Costas, 2011 The creators of the best-selling And the Crowd Goes Wild present an officially endorsed collection of key historical events that combines archival photography with coverage of such famed stories as the Immaculate Reception, the Ice Bowl and the Music City Miracle, in a volume complemented by a 10-part documentary by an Emmy Award-winning team. |
| craziest moments in history: Unbelievable Katy Tur, 2017-09-12 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Compelling… this book couldn’t be more timely.” – Jill Abramson, New York Times Book Review From the Recipient of the 2017 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism Called disgraceful, third-rate, and not nice by Donald Trump, NBC News correspondent Katy Tur reported on—and took flak from—the most captivating and volatile presidential candidate in American history. Katy Tur lived out of a suitcase for a year and a half, following Trump around the country, powered by packets of peanut butter and kept clean with dry shampoo. She visited forty states with the candidate, made more than 3,800 live television reports, and tried to endure a gazillion loops of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer—a Trump rally playlist staple. From day 1 to day 500, Tur documented Trump’s inconsistencies, fact-checked his falsities, and called him out on his lies. In return, Trump repeatedly singled Tur out. He tried to charm her, intimidate her, and shame her. At one point, he got a crowd so riled up against Tur, Secret Service agents had to walk her to her car. None of it worked. Facts are stubborn. So was Tur. She was part of the first women-led politics team in the history of network news. The Boys on the Bus became the Girls on the Plane. But the circus remained. Through all the long nights, wild scoops, naked chauvinism, dodgy staffers, and fevered debates, no one had a better view than Tur. Unbelievable is her darkly comic, fascinatingly bizarre, and often scary story of how America sent a former reality show host to the White House. It’s also the story of what it was like for Tur to be there as it happened, inside a no-rules world where reporters were spat on, demeaned, and discredited. Tur was a foreign correspondent who came home to her most foreign story of all. Unbelievable is a must-read for anyone who still wakes up and wonders, Is this real life? |
| craziest moments in history: The Napoleonic Wars in 100 Facts Jem Duducu, 2015-05-15 Discover the history behind the facts |
| craziest moments in history: David McCullough Great Moments in History E-book Box Set David McCullough, 2011-05-24 From New York Times bestselling author David McCullough, a special ebook boxed set features books that study key points of American history. The David McCullough Great Moments in History ebook box set includes the following McCullough classics: 1776 is the riveting story of George Washington, the men who marched with him, and their British foes in the momentous year of American independence. The Johnstown Flood is the classic history of an American tragedy that became a scandal in the age of the Robber Barons, the preventable flood that destroyed a town and killed 2,000 people. Path Between the Seas is the epic National Book Award–winning history of the heroic successes, tragic failures, and astonishing engineering and medical feats that made the Panama Canal possible. The Great Bridge is the remarkable, enthralling story of the planning and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which linked two great cities and epitomized American optimism, skill, and determination. A special bonus is included: The Course of Human Events. In this Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, David McCullough draws on his personal experience as a historian to acknowledge the crucial importance of writing in history’s enduring impact and influence, and he affirms the significance of history in teaching us about human nature through the ages. |
| craziest moments in history: Rise and Kill First Ronen Bergman, 2018-01-30 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first definitive history of the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF’s targeted killing programs, hailed by The New York Times as “an exceptional work, a humane book about an incendiary subject.” WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD IN HISTORY NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY JENNIFER SZALAI, THE NEW YORK TIMES NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Economist • The New York Times Book Review • BBC History Magazine • Mother Jones • Kirkus Reviews The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes preemptively. In this page-turning, eye-opening book, journalist and military analyst Ronen Bergman—praised by David Remnick as “arguably [Israel’s] best investigative reporter”—offers a riveting inside account of the targeted killing programs: their successes, their failures, and the moral and political price exacted on the men and women who approved and carried out the missions. Bergman has gained the exceedingly rare cooperation of many current and former members of the Israeli government, including Prime Ministers Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as high-level figures in the country’s military and intelligence services: the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Mossad (the world’s most feared intelligence agency), Caesarea (a “Mossad within the Mossad” that carries out attacks on the highest-value targets), and the Shin Bet (an internal security service that implemented the largest targeted assassination campaign ever, in order to stop what had once appeared to be unstoppable: suicide terrorism). Including never-before-reported, behind-the-curtain accounts of key operations, and based on hundreds of on-the-record interviews and thousands of files to which Bergman has gotten exclusive access over his decades of reporting, Rise and Kill First brings us deep into the heart of Israel’s most secret activities. Bergman traces, from statehood to the present, the gripping events and thorny ethical questions underlying Israel’s targeted killing campaign, which has shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the entire world. “A remarkable feat of fearless and responsible reporting . . . important, timely, and informative.”—John le Carré |
| craziest moments in history: A Lady for a Duke Alexis Hall, 2022-05-24 From the bestselling author of Husband Material comes a lush, sweeping queer historical romance where sparks fly between childhood friends after a life-changing separation—perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Evie Dunmore, and Lisa Kleypas! When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood. Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become. As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again. |
| craziest moments in history: Great Moments in Chocolate History Howard-Yana Shapiro, 2015 Packed with irresistible facts and photos, this beautiful gift book reveals the untold story chocolate, of the world's favorite indulgence. Did you know that M&Ms were invented for WWII soldiers as the chocolate that wouldn't melt in their hands? Or that Marie Antoinette had her own personal chocolate maker? Or that Thomas Jefferson predicted that chocolate would outstrip coffee as the most popular drink in America? Featuring 20 sinfully delicious chocolate recipes from around the world, this entertaining romp through chocolate history will delight chocoholics everywhere. |
| craziest moments in history: The Great Cat Massacre Robert Darnton, 2009-05-12 The landmark history of France and French culture in the eighteenth-century, a winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize When the apprentices of a Paris printing shop in the 1730s held a series of mock trials and then hanged all the cats they could lay their hands on, why did they find it so hilariously funny that they choked with laughter when they reenacted it in pantomime some twenty times? Why in the eighteenth-century version of Little Red Riding Hood did the wolf eat the child at the end? What did the anonymous townsman of Montpelier have in mind when he kept an exhaustive dossier on all the activities of his native city? These are some of the provocative questions the distinguished Harvard historian Robert Darnton answers The Great Cat Massacre, a kaleidoscopic view of European culture during in what we like to call The Age of Enlightenment. A classic of European history, it is an essential starting point for understanding Enlightenment France. |
| craziest moments in history: FORTNITE (Official): The Chronicle Epic Games, 2019-10-01 Celebrate the evolution of Fortnite and all the best moments from seasons one through nine in this official Epic Games' book, featuring the authentic Fortnite holographic seal. Love Fortnite? Relive your favorite Fortnite memories here. Ever since it burst onto our screens in 2017, Fortnite has been in a state of constant change. This official, collectable guide features all the most exciting highlights from seasons one through nine including the volcano eruption, pirate invasions, the Cube, the Ice King, and so much more. Read on to revisit Battle Royale's most momentous moments! |
| craziest moments in history: His Very Best Jonathan Alter, 2021-09-21 “Drawing on fresh archival material and extensive access to Carter and his family, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Alter tells the epic story of a man of faith and his improbable journey from barefoot boy in the vicious Jim Crow South to global icon. We learn how Carter evolved from a timid child into an ambitious naval nuclear engineer and an indefatigable born-again governor; how as a president he failed politically amid the bad economy of the 1970s and the seizure of hostages in Iran but succeeded in engineering peace between Israel and Egypt, amassing a historic environmental record, moving the government from tokenism to diversity, setting a new global standard for human rights, and normalizing relations with China, among dozens of other unheralded achievements. After leaving office, Carter revolutionized the postpresidency with the bold global accomplishments of the Carter center”--Cover. |
| craziest moments in history: 1536 Suzannah Lipscomb, 2009 The stereotype of Henry VIII presents us with the image of a corpulent, covetous, and cunning king whose appetite for worldly goods met few parallels, whose wives met infamously premature ends, and whose religion was ever political in intent. Moving beyond this caricature, 1536 - focusing on a pivotal year in the life of the King - reveals a fuller portrait of this complex monarch, detailing the finer shades of humanity that have so long been overlooked. We discover that in 1536 Henry met many failures - physical, personal, and political - and emerged from them a different man: a revolutionary new king who proceeded to transform a nation and reform a religion. A compelling story, 1536 shows what a profound difference can be made by changing the heart of a king. |
| craziest moments in history: Freedom Riders Raymond Arsenault, 2011-03-11 The saga of the Freedom Rides is an improbable, almost unbelievable story. In the course of six months in 1961, four hundred and fifty Freedom Riders expanded the realm of the possible in American politics, redefining the limits of dissent and setting the stage for the civil rights movement. In this new version of his encyclopedic Freedom Riders, Raymond Arsenault offers a significantly condensed and tautly written account. With characters and plot lines rivaling those of the most imaginative fiction, this is a tale of heroic sacrifice and unexpected triumph. Arsenault recounts how a group of volunteers--blacks and whites--came together to travel from Washington DC through the Deep South, defying Jim Crow laws in buses and terminals and putting their lives on the line for racial justice. News photographers captured the violence in Montgomery, shocking the nation and sparking a crisis in the Kennedy administration. Here are the key players--their fears and courage, their determination and second thoughts, and the agonizing choices they faced as they took on Jim Crow--and triumphed. Winner of the Owsley Prize Publication is timed to coincide with the airing of the American Experience miniseries documenting the Freedom Rides Arsenault brings vividly to life a defining moment in modern American history. --Eric Foner, The New York Times Book Review Authoritative, compelling history. --William Grimes, The New York Times For those interested in understanding 20th-century America, this is an essential book. --Roger Wilkins, Washington Post Book World Arsenault's record of strategy sessions, church vigils, bloody assaults, mass arrests, political maneuverings and personal anguish captures the mood and the turmoil, the excitement and the confusion of the movement and the time. --Michael Kenney, The Boston Globe |
| craziest moments in history: Milk! Mark Kurlansky, 2018-05-08 Mark Kurlansky's first global food history since the bestselling Cod and Salt; the fascinating cultural, economic, and culinary story of milk and all things dairy--with recipes throughout. According to the Greek creation myth, we are so much spilt milk; a splatter of the goddess Hera's breast milk became our galaxy, the Milky Way. But while mother's milk may be the essence of nourishment, it is the milk of other mammals that humans have cultivated ever since the domestication of animals more than 10,000 years ago, originally as a source of cheese, yogurt, kefir, and all manner of edible innovations that rendered lactose digestible, and then, when genetic mutation made some of us lactose-tolerant, milk itself. Before the industrial revolution, it was common for families to keep dairy cows and produce their own milk. But during the nineteenth century mass production and urbanization made milk safety a leading issue of the day, with milk-borne illnesses a common cause of death. Pasteurization slowly became a legislative matter. And today milk is a test case in the most pressing issues in food politics, from industrial farming and animal rights to GMOs, the locavore movement, and advocates for raw milk, who controversially reject pasteurization. Profoundly intertwined with human civilization, milk has a compelling and a surprisingly global story to tell, and historian Mark Kurlansky is the perfect person to tell it. Tracing the liquid's diverse history from antiquity to the present, he details its curious and crucial role in cultural evolution, religion, nutrition, politics, and economics. |
| craziest moments in history: Life Keith Richards, 2010-11-12 The long-awaited autobiography of Keith Richards, guitarist, songwriter, singer, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. With The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the songs that roused the world, and he lived the original rock and roll life. Now, at last, the man himself tells his story of life in the crossfire hurricane. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones's first fame and the notorious drug busts that led to his enduring image as an outlaw folk hero. Creating immortal riffs like the ones in Jumping Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Women. His relationship with Anita Pallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the U.S., isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Marriage, family, solo albums and Xpensive Winos, and the road that goes on forever. With his trademark disarming honesty, Keith Richard brings us the story of a life we have all longed to know more of, unfettered, fearless, and true. |
| craziest moments in history: Discovering the Civil War , 2010 Peels back years of accumulated analysis, interpretation, and opinion to reveal the human face of history. |
| craziest moments in history: A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn, 2003-02-04 Since its original landmark publication in 1980, A People's History of the United States has been chronicling American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version of history taught in schools -- with its emphasis on great men in high places -- to focus on the street, the home, and the, workplace. Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of -- and in the words of -- America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers. As historian Howard Zinn shows, many of our country's greatest battles -- the fights for a fair wage, an eight-hour workday, child-labor laws, health and safety standards, universal suffrage, women's rights, racial equality -- were carried out at the grassroots level, against bloody resistance. Covering Christopher Columbus's arrival through President Clinton's first term, A People's History of the United States, which was nominated for the American Book Award in 1981, features insightful analysis of the most important events in our history. Revised, updated, and featuring a new after, word by the author, this special twentieth anniversary edition continues Zinn's important contribution to a complete and balanced understanding of American history. |
| craziest moments in history: The 100-year Secret Benjamin Jacobs, Eugene Pool, 2004 It's the story no one would tell. On May 3, 1945, the Royal Air Force attacked a fleet of ships carrying more than seven thousand survivors of the Neuengamme concentration camp. The war was nearly over, and the survivors had endured one of history's most hellish ordeals, only to die at the hands of their allies. The bodies, in the striped white-and-black uniforms of camp prisoners, were soon washing ashore on the beach by the town of Timmendorf, near the Baltic port of Neustadt. Benjamin Jacobs, then twenty-five, survived by escaping the hold and clinging to wreckage. He was one of only 350 survivors, and one of the last of those. Days before, Jacobs had boarded the Cap Arcona, along with thousands of other prisoners. A commandeered luxury liner, the Cap Arcona was a dilapidated wreck. Nearby, the freighter Thielbek, in similar condition, was also attacked. There is reason to believe the Germans were intending to sink the Cap Arcona themselves. Though they claimed the prisoners were headed to Sweden, the ships may have been nonfunctional. The Royal Air Force believed the ships contained escaping SS officers. Tragically, British intelligence may have known who was on the ships, which may explain why the RAF has sealed the records until 2045. In The 100-Year Secret Benjamin Jacobs collaborates with writer Eugene Pool to describe his miraculous escape from a burning transport ship that was once one of the most glamorous ocean liners of the early twentieth century, and investigates why the incident, which will have its 60th anniversary in May, 2005, appears in no history books. The governments of Germany and Great Britain continue to refuse either to discuss it or to release pertinent records, The 100-Year Secret is the first complete account in English of this horrific and suppressed tragedy. It is also the first book-length description by an actual survivor. Furthermore, it contains new information about the incident, its participants, and its perpetrators not found in previous accounts. It is both the riveting personal story of a man who refused to give up, no matter what the circumstances, and an important revision of both Jewish and world history. |
| craziest moments in history: Food for the Dead Michael E. Bell, 2013-04-16 These stories of vampire legends and gruesome nineteenth-century practices is “a major contribution to the study of New England folk beliefs” (The Boston Globe). For nineteenth-century New Englanders, “vampires” lurked behind tuberculosis. To try to rid their houses and communities from the scourge of the wasting disease, families sometimes relied on folk practices, including exhuming and consuming the bodies of the deceased. Folklorist Michael E. Bell spent twenty years pursuing stories of the vampire in New England. While writers like H.P. Lovecraft, Henry David Thoreau, and Amy Lowell drew on portions of these stories in their writings, Bell brings the actual practices to light for the first time. He shows that the belief in vampires was widespread, and, for some families, lasted well into the twentieth century. With humor, insight, and sympathy, he uncovers story upon story of dying men, women, and children who believed they were food for the dead. “A marvelous book.” —Providence Journal Includes an updated preface covering newly discovered cases. |
| craziest moments in history: Marie Antoinette Antonia Fraser, 2002-11-12 France's iconic queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous Let them eat cake, was alternately revered and reviled during her lifetime. For centuries since, she has been the object of debate, speculation, and the fascination so often accorded illustrious figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted child was thrust onto the royal stage and commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in European history. Antonia Fraser's lavish and engaging portrait excites compassion and regard for all aspects of the queen, immersing the reader not only in the coming-of-age of a graceful woman, but in the culture of an unparalleled time and place. |
| craziest moments in history: 100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History Bud Greenspan, 1995 Profiles the accomplishments of one hundred athletes in Olympic competition throughout the 20th century. |
| craziest moments in history: Honey Badger Don't Care Randall, 2012-01-24 Never before has wildlife narration been this bold and this hilarious. More than 40 million people have viewed Randall’s honey badger video, “The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger.” “It has no regard for anyone or anything—it just takes what it wants! What a little badass!” When viewing wildlife footage, who hasn’t thought at times, “Ewww! What the hell is that?!” Randall thinks it — and says so! In Honey Badger Don’t Care, Randall examines and humorously informs on a dozen crazy, nasty animals of the wild kingdom employing his unique style of telling it like it is! His wildlife writing is refreshingly honest. If an animal scares Randall, he’s not afraid to share. Unlike most nature writers, Randall doesn’t deliver the sugarcoated or drab description. He “goes there” and shares his true feelings with his audience. Because of this, his readers feel that they can relate. Randall loves animals—even the ones that terrify him. He may not agree with how these animals conduct themselves in the world, but Randall wants everyone to know who they are. Just as he introduced the world to the honey badger, the Jesus lizard, and others, so will Randall shed light on twelve bizarre and interesting animals. Designed with callouts, sidebars, and more than fifty photos, Honey Badger Don’t Care presents a wildlife book for adults—hilarious, irreverent, profane, yet charming, chatty, and informative. Don’t be stupid—buy this book! |
| craziest moments in history: Daredevil Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Gene Colan, 2008-03-20 Inducted into the comic book hall of fame in 2005, Gene Colan's legendary work spans from Tomb of Dracula to Howard the Duck, but Daredevil is considered his signature series. Fan forums have long cried out for a definitive collection of his Daredevil works, so this compendium follows his finest works from the early 70s in collaboration with writers Roy Thomas and Gerald F. Conway. UK exclusive. |
| craziest moments in history: America's Best History Timeline Americasbesthistory Com, 2013-11 A timeline of historic events from the 1500's to the present day in American history, categorized by decade and year brought to you by the staff at America's Best History and americasbesthistory.com. Quick and easy to search reference guide enumerating the most important events of each year for students or anyone who wants to keep american history in context and how it unfolded at their fingertips. The editors at americasbesthistory.com has put together this timeline of American history in an easy to read fashion, which mirrors the way the website categorizes the most important events of each year. It is meant as a clear and concise account of the events in short paragraph form, without an overly academic tone. You won't find footnotes and opinion, but you will find a good starting off place to dive more deeply into each subject and as a reminder of how the events of United States history took shape, about how the population of the nation grew, about how politics and political events shaped each decade, and about our national parks and heritage that tell the stories of each. The information provided within this timeline was gleaned from various sources, as well as the knowledge and experience of the America's Best History staff, and should not be considered a scholarly work per se, but as a jumping off point for the reader to go into more detail about a particular topic of their interest. |
| craziest moments in history: Roosevelt and de Gaulle Raoul Aglion, 1988 In this riveting personal history, Aglion, de Gaulle's trusted emissary who established the Free France delegation in the United States, explains the personal and political factors which bred Franklin Roosevelt and Charles de Gaulle's intense mutual animosity. Black-and-white photos. |
| craziest moments in history: The Age of Acrimony Jon Grinspan, 2021-04-27 A penetrating, character-filled history “in the manner of David McCullough” (WSJ), revealing the deep roots of our tormented present-day politics. Democracy was broken. Or that was what many Americans believed in the decades after the Civil War. Shaken by economic and technological disruption, they sought safety in aggressive, tribal partisanship. The results were the loudest, closest, most violent elections in U.S. history, driven by vibrant campaigns that drew our highest-ever voter turnouts. At the century's end, reformers finally restrained this wild system, trading away participation for civility in the process. They built a calmer, cleaner democracy, but also a more distant one. Americans' voting rates crashed and never fully recovered. This is the origin story of the “normal” politics of the 20th century. Only by exploring where that civility and restraint came from can we understand what is happening to our democracy today. The Age of Acrimony charts the rise and fall of 19th-century America's unruly politics through the lives of a remarkable father-daughter dynasty. The radical congressman William “Pig Iron” Kelley and his fiery, Progressive daughter Florence Kelley led lives packed with drama, intimately tied to their nation's politics. Through their friendships and feuds, campaigns and crusades, Will and Florie trace the narrative of a democracy in crisis. In telling the tale of what it cost to cool our republic, historian Jon Grinspan reveals our divisive political system's enduring capacity to reinvent itself. |
| craziest moments in history: Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu Junji Ito, 2015-10-27 HELL-O-KITTY Master of Japanese horror manga Junji Ito presents a series of hissterical tales chronicling his real-life trials and tribulations of becoming a cat owner. Junji Ito, as J-kun, has recently built a new house and has invited his financée, A-ko, to live with him. Little did he know…his blushing bride-to-be has some unexpected company in tow—Yon, a ghastly-looking family cat, and Mu, an adorable Norwegian forest cat. Despite being a dog person, J-kun finds himself purrsuaded by their odd cuteness and thus begins his comedic struggle to gain the affection of his new feline friends. |
| craziest moments in history: Shivaji Ranjit Desai, 2017-12-15 'The epic text of Ranjit Desai's Shriman Yogi finds new voice in Vikrant Pande's nuanced translation, an immersive narrative of the foundations of the Maratha empire and the saga of its charismatic founder.' - Namita Gokhale. Young Shivaji reaches Pune, a dying fort city, with his mother Jijabai and lights the first lamp within its ruins. While his father Shahaji Bhosle is away on deputation by the Adil Shah sultanate after having failed in a revolt against it, Shivaji learns how an empire is built from the ground up. Thus begins the life of the Great Maratha. What awaits Shivaji is nothing short of the vast scroll of history, and it takes him from Surat to Thanjavur and all the way to Aurangzeb's durbar in Agra. He dreams of freeing his land from the clutches of Mughal rule, and though he suffers many defeats and personal losses along the way he never gives up his vision of Hindavi Swaraj. Amidst political intrigue and a chain of skirmishes, Shivaji becomes a leader, a warrior and a tactician par excellence, driven by immense pride and love for his motherland. |
| craziest moments in history: The Tale of the Two Lovers Pope Pius, 1929 |
| craziest moments in history: The Lost Books of the Bible and The Forgotten Books of Eden Rutherford Hayes Platt, 1927 Presented here are two volumes of apocryphal writings reflecting the life and time of the Old and New Testaments. Stories told by contemporary fiction writers of historical Bible times in fascinating and beautiful style. |
| craziest moments in history: Whole New Religion Bob Jakubovic, 2002-01-15 When Felix Sladkey, cult writer and famous recluse, decides to write another novel after a nine-year absence, a madcap plot of counterfeit, superstardom and power ensnares everyone from the typist's teenage neighbor to the literary agent to the local bartender. First-time novelist Bob Jakubovic playfully takes aim at the publishing industry in this, his first novel. |
| craziest moments in history: The Liberal Crack-up R. Emmett Tyrrell, 1984 |
| craziest moments in history: Dead Famous Greg Jenner, 2021-08-19 Celebrity, with its neon glow and selfie pout, strikes us as hypermodern. But the famous and infamous have been thrilling, titillating, and outraging us for much longer than we might realise. Whether it was the scandalous Lord Byron, whose poetry sent female fans into an erotic frenzy; or the cheetah-owning, coffin-sleeping, one-legged French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who launched a violent feud with her former best friend; or Edmund Kean, the dazzling Shakespearean actor whose monstrous ego and terrible alcoholism saw him nearly murdered by his own audience - the list of stars whose careers burned bright before the Age of Television is extensive and thrillingly varied. Celebrities could be heroes or villains; warriors or murderers; brilliant talents, or fraudsters with a flair for fibbing; trendsetters, wilful provocateurs, or tragic victims marketed as freaks of nature. Some craved fame while others had it forced upon them. A few found fame as small children, some had to wait decades to get their break. But uniting them all is the shared origin point: since the early 1700s, celebrity has been one of the most emphatic driving forces in popular culture; it is a lurid cousin to Ancient Greek ideas of glorious and notorious reputation, and its emergence helped to shape public attitudes to ethics, national identity, religious faith, wealth, sexuality, and gender roles. In this ambitious history, that spans the Bronze Age to the coming of Hollywood's Golden Age, Greg Jenner assembles a vibrant cast of over 125 actors, singers, dancers, sportspeople, freaks, demigods, ruffians, and more, in search of celebrity's historical roots. He reveals why celebrity burst into life in the early eighteenth century, how it differs to ancient ideas of fame, the techniques through which it was acquired, how it was maintained, the effect it had on public tastes, and the psychological burden stardom could place on those in the glaring limelight. |
| craziest moments in history: The Babe Lawrence S. Ritter, Mark Rucker, 1988 In a remarkable wedding of words and pictures, here is the larger-than-life George Herman Babe Ruth, the greatest player of all time. |
| craziest moments in history: Military Blunders Saul David, 2012-09-06 Retelling the most spectacular cock-ups in military history, this graphic account has a great deal to say about the psychology of military incompetence and the reasons even the most well-oiled military machines inflict disaster upon themselves. Beginning in AD9 with the massacre of Varus and his legions in the Black Forest all the way up to present day conflict in Afghanistan it analyses why things go wrong on the battlefield and who is to blame. |
| craziest moments in history: The Medieval Crossbow ELLIS-GORMAN STUART, 2022-05-30 The crossbow is an iconic weapon of the Middle Ages and, alongside the longbow, one of the most effective ranged weapons of the pre-gunpowder era. Unfortunately, despite its general fame it has been decades since an in-depth history of the medieval crossbow has been published, which is why Stuart Ellis-Gorman's detailed, accessible, and highly illustrated study is so valuable. The Medieval Crossbow approaches the history of the crossbow from two directions. The first is a technical study of the design and construction of the medieval crossbow, the many different kinds of crossbows used during the Middle Ages, and finally a consideration of the relationship between crossbows and art. The second half of the book explores the history of the crossbow, from its origins in ancient China to its decline in sixteenth-century Europe. Along the way it explores the challenges in deciphering the crossbow's early medieval history as well as its prominence in warfare and sport shooting in the High and Later Middle Ages. This fascinating book brings together the work of a wide range of accomplished crossbow scholars and incorporates the author's own original research to create an account of the medieval crossbow that will appeal to anyone looking to gain an insight into one of the most important weapons of the Middle Ages. |
| craziest moments in history: Seduction of the Innocent Fredric Wertham, 1999 Dr. Wertham was senior psychiatrist for the Department of Hospitals in New York City. This book, thoroughly documented by facts and cases, gives the substance of Dr. Wertham's expert opinion on the effects that comic books have on the minds and behavior of children who come in contact with them. Reprint of the 1954 edition with a new comprehensive Introduction by James E. Reibman, Ph.D. |
| craziest moments in history: Connections James Burke, 1978 |
40 Weirdest Historical Events That Will Make You Laugh
May 20, 2024 · You won’t believe this crazy historical event – the Korea Tree Incident of 1976! It started when some American and South Korean soldiers were just trying to prune an …
12 Unbelievable Historical Events That Really Happened - Ranker
Nov 10, 2023 · Discover the most unbelievable historical events that will leave you astounded! Voted on by viewers, this article unveils jaw-dropping moments from the past.
12 Truly Weird Historical Events That Actually Happened - BuzzFeed
Sep 2, 2019 · 1. After sacking the city of Antioch in 540 CE, Sasanian Emperor Khosrow I built a new city that looked almost exactly the same and called it "Weh Antiok Khusrau," which …
Weird Historical Events That Sound Fake But are True
History is filled with moments so bizarre and unbelievable that they often sound like the stuff of fiction. Yet, these peculiar tales are grounded in reality, revealing the unpredictable and often …
The 15 Bizarre Historical Events That Actually Happened
Dec 7, 2024 · When you dig deeper and read about history beyond the textbooks, you realize how truly bizarre and fascinating history really is. These bizarre historical events highlight history’s …
29 Bizarre Historical Events You Won't Believe Happened - Bored …
May 21, 2025 · The 1140 Siege of Weinsberg marked a significant moment in the struggle between King Conrad III and Count Welf VI over control of the Holy Roman Empire. In an …
17 Of The Most Amazing Coincidences In History That Will Blow …
Jul 9, 2016 · These bizarre and seemingly unbelievable coincidences in history will leave you wondering "what were the chances?"
Top 10 Weirdest Historical Events That Actually Happened
These historical events will shock you! For this list, we'll be going over the strangest or oddest anecdotes and figures from throughout history. Our countdown includes The Emu War, …
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Dec 23, 2021 · Some moments in history are so odd, so surreal, that they sound completely made up. Here, historical blogger Jem Duducu rounds up seven of the most curious.
13 of the Most Absurd Events in History - Interesting Facts
Dec 2, 2024 · When you think about history, it’s often tales of wars, revolutions, or groundbreaking inventions that come to mind. But let’s not forget that history also has a funny side. Humans …
40 Weirdest Historical Events That Will Make You Laugh
May 20, 2024 · You won’t believe this crazy historical event – the Korea Tree Incident of 1976! It started when some American and South Korean soldiers were just trying to prune an …
12 Unbelievable Historical Events That Really Happened - Ranker
Nov 10, 2023 · Discover the most unbelievable historical events that will leave you astounded! Voted on by viewers, this article unveils jaw-dropping moments from the past.
12 Truly Weird Historical Events That Actually Happened - BuzzFeed
Sep 2, 2019 · 1. After sacking the city of Antioch in 540 CE, Sasanian Emperor Khosrow I built a new city that looked almost exactly the same and called it "Weh Antiok Khusrau," which …
Weird Historical Events That Sound Fake But are True
History is filled with moments so bizarre and unbelievable that they often sound like the stuff of fiction. Yet, these peculiar tales are grounded in reality, revealing the unpredictable and often …
The 15 Bizarre Historical Events That Actually Happened
Dec 7, 2024 · When you dig deeper and read about history beyond the textbooks, you realize how truly bizarre and fascinating history really is. These bizarre historical events highlight history’s …
29 Bizarre Historical Events You Won't Believe Happened - Bored …
May 21, 2025 · The 1140 Siege of Weinsberg marked a significant moment in the struggle between King Conrad III and Count Welf VI over control of the Holy Roman Empire. In an …
17 Of The Most Amazing Coincidences In History That Will Blow …
Jul 9, 2016 · These bizarre and seemingly unbelievable coincidences in history will leave you wondering "what were the chances?"
Top 10 Weirdest Historical Events That Actually Happened
These historical events will shock you! For this list, we'll be going over the strangest or oddest anecdotes and figures from throughout history. Our countdown includes The Emu War, …
7 Weird, Bizarre, Odd & Surreal – But True – Moments In History ...
Dec 23, 2021 · Some moments in history are so odd, so surreal, that they sound completely made up. Here, historical blogger Jem Duducu rounds up seven of the most curious.
13 of the Most Absurd Events in History - Interesting Facts
Dec 2, 2024 · When you think about history, it’s often tales of wars, revolutions, or groundbreaking inventions that come to mind. But let’s not forget that history also has a funny side. Humans …
