Here Is Where chronicles Andrew Carroll’s eye-opening – and at times hilarious — journey across America to find and explore unmarked historic sites where extraordinary moments occurred and remarkable individuals once lived. Sparking the idea for this book was Carroll’s visit to the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s son was saved by the brother of Lincoln’s assassin. Carroll wondered, How many other … many other unmarked places are there where intriguing events have unfolded and that we walk past every day, not realizing their significance? To answer that question, Carroll ultimately trekked to every region of the country — by car, train, plane, helicopter, bus, bike, and kayak and on foot. Among the things he learned:
*Where in North America the oldest sample of human DNA was discovered
* Where America’s deadliest maritime disaster took place, a calamity worse than the fate of the Titanic
*Which virtually unknown American scientist saved hundreds of millions of lives
*Which famous Prohibition agent was the brother of a notorious gangster
*How a 14-year-old farm boy’s brainstorm led to the creation of television
Featured prominently in Here Is Where are an abundance of firsts (from the first use of modern anesthesia to the first cremation to the first murder conviction based on forensic evidence); outrages (from riots to massacres to forced sterilizations); and breakthroughs (from the invention, inside a prison, of a revolutionary weapon; to the recovery, deep in the Alaskan tundra, of a super-virus; to the building of the rocket that made possible space travel). Here Is Where is thoroughly entertaining, but it’s also a profound reminder that the places we pass by often harbor amazing secrets and that there are countless other astonishing stories still out there, waiting to be found.
Look for Andrew’s new book, My Fellow Soldiers.
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This book is filled with facts and stories about history events that are not taught in schools. For example the inventor of the M1 rifle was in prison when he invented it. The first recorded cremation occurred in SC. The person was Henry Lauren’s one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His cremation occurred in the 18th century. Crematiins were frowned upon by the church and most local governments. The book is informative and entertaining.
I am still working my way through it. I enjoyed the first bit, but then it seemed to bog down. I am planning to skip that part and pick up again a bit further along. Each place he visited and wrote about was it’s own separate part. The first ones were great and quite informative.
A really good read. Of interest to anyone into Americana or who enjoys reading Atlas Obscura online.
This is a quirky book that looks for and finds obscure memorials. Truthfully, I lost interest about half way through the book. It just got tedious to read and I couldn’t face picking it up again.
Surprisingly informative, this book is a fun twist on the study of history. I enjoyed it very much.
Thoroughly enjoyed all the things I didn’t know that the author shared.
Reading this book will convince the reader that this country was really meant to be. We won our freedom from Great Britain in spite of bad leadership, poor decisions, egos the size of Mt. Rushmore and frequent refusal to cooperate with other American military leaders. These are stories that few of us know and are made even more fascinating when compared to the neat, clean and homogenized history we are taught in school.
This was an unexpected delight. A list of unusual place and points in American History. I found myself saying “Did you Know?” a lot. Subtle sense of humor helped. Very fun read.
An interesting read, things we never heard before in history.
Enlightening and interesting. Learned a lot about things in this country that happened and were covered up.
Very interesting ! Amazing on how much history is being forgotten! Thanks for enlightening me.
Well written book by a very good author. Many surprising pieces of information about American historical facts.
not as good as i thought it might be.
Lots of places no one knows of and should visit.
Great book for history and mystery buffs. Oh, the things I don’t know…
Fun to read with many surprising history details. I was shocked to learn that the person who invented cruise- control was blind, for just one example. Enjoyed this fun book!
Excellent reading — It gives a new look at the often missed places of interest.
I learned a great deal of American History even though I taught it for forty years!
Very, very informative. I like “local” history and this book covered each story in depth. Many locations I had heard about but did not know any of the details found in this book. Made me want to travel.
As a history buff, I was mesmerized by these little-known facts from our nation’s history. Everything discussed was new to me.