By Andrew Carroll
Part history book, part travel log, Andrew Carroll’s “Here
is Where: Discovering America’s Great Forgotten History” crisscrosses the country
from Florida to Alaska, from Maine to Hawaii, and spans four centuries of
American history. All but forgotten the
incidents and places featured in Mr. Carroll’s delightful tome are little known
and all are unmarked.
For instance, SS Sultana could legally carry 376 passengers
and crew. When it left Vicksburg
Mississippi it carried an estimated 2,400 passengers, a large number of which
had recently been released from the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville,
Georgia. When it exploded and sank near
Mound City, Arkansas on April 27, 1865 the official death toll was 1,547, and
it is still the greatest maritime disaster in American history, surpassing even
the sinking of RMS Titanic, which had 33 fewer deaths. Overshadowed by the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln and the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth, it remains today largely
forgotten. Though there are monuments
dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Sultana, no monument or plaque
marks the spot where remains of the ship were found in 1982.
Would you be surprised to learn Al Capone had a brother that
changed his name to Richard James Hart who lived in the tiny town of Homer,
Nebraska and became a Federal Prohibition Agent?
Or how about this? Madison
Grant, one of a trio of what we could call today, conservationists, responsible
for founding the “Save the Redwoods League” would also write a book on eugenics
that Adolph Hitler praised as his new “bible.”
Or that a fourteen year old Philo T. Farnsworth had brainstorm
while plowing a field on his father’s Idaho farm that would eventually lead him
to develop the first fully functional television system.
These are but a few of the stories found in Andrew Carroll’s
book. Though I would love to see a
breakdown of his itinerary and budget for his cross-country journey into forgotten
history, Mr. Carroll did not organize his book in the chronological sequence of
his travels, but rather he has divided his book into themes:
- Where To Begin: Starting Points
- The World Before Us: Coming to, Exploring and Conserving America
- This Land Is My Land: The Dark Side of Expansion and Growth
- Landmark Cases: Crimes and Lawsuits that Changed the Nation
- Sparks: Invention and Technological Advancements
- Bitter Pills And Miracle Cures: Medical Pioneers and Discoveries
- Burial Plots: Forgotten Graves, Cemeteries and Stories about the Dead
- All Is Not Lost: Finding and Preserving History
Each of Mr. Carroll’s themed chapters are subsequently
divided into their individual stories, many of which interconnect in some way,
shape or form. Histories coincidences
never cease to amaze.
“Here Is Where” is well written, in a conversational style,
that is at once educational, entertaining and amusing to read. It is easily one of the most enjoyable books
I have read in quite some time, and would make a great addition to anyone’s
home library whether they are a self-proclaimed “history nut” or not.
ISBN 978-0307463975, Crown Archetype, © 2013, Hardcover, 512
pages, “Acknowledgements and Sources,” $25.00. To purchase this book
click HERE.
