This book is dedicated to “the man in Preston, Idaho, who stood and asked me when I would start ‘writing history as stories to make them more interesting’.”
History can be interesting. Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America by Glenn Beck tells 12 stories that stretch from the American Revolution to the War on Terror.
I picked this book up at a bookstore on sale. It looked interesting and I do enjoy reading history when it’s made interesting (historical fiction is my favorite). I had seen some good reviews about it as well.
It took me a while to get through the first three chapters because they were heavy on details and set in early American history. More needed to be explained to set the story for Jack Jouett’s ride, Shay’s Rebellion and the Virginia Convention. After those stories, though, I read the rest rather quickly and often stopped to tell someone, “Did you know?”
Beck covers The Barbary War, Edison vs. Westinghouse, The Battle of Wounded Knee, Easy Eddie (Capone’s lawyer), Nazi defectors in the U.S., Tokyo Rose, The Battle of Athens, Ga., My Lai Massacre and Sept. 11’s missing hijacker.
I learned many new things about significant historical events in this country’s history by reading this book. While it’s not fiction, it would make a great book club read to discuss the little known facts found in these stories. I will reference this book when my children learn about these topics in school.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone high school age or older.