Synopsis
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES of AMERICAN HISTORY
Did Leif Ericsson beat Columbus to America? Did Pocahontas really save John Smith? Was Amelia Earhart a spy? Who killed JFK? These are just a few of the intriguing mysteries of American history.
Unsolved Mysteries of American History re-creates the most mystifying events of our past and follows some of our greatest historians as they search for answers. Like seasoned detectives, these historians gather evidence, pore over eyewitness testimony, head down some dead ends, unmask liars and frauds, and offer their solutions. Here is everything you'd want in a great detective story: the twists and turns, the intellectual challenges, even the espionage and murder.
Bringing clarity and a beautifully balanced perspective to his diverse subjects, Paul Aron makes sense of all the latest discoveries and speculation, revealing:
- What was the meaning of CROATAN, the puzzling letters carved on the fort at the Lost Colony of Roanoke?
- Do reports from the Mexican side of the legendary battle suggest that Davy Crockett did not die at the Alamo?
- What prompted Confederate Army mastermind Robert E. Lee to order the suicidal Pickett's Charge?
- What did nuclear engineers discover while examining the wreckage of the Maine?
- What dramatic revelations emerged from the FBI and KGB files on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg?
- Is there evidence that the battle at the Gulf of Tonkin—a key factor in America's escalation of the Vietnam War—may never have taken place?
"Like the best historians, Aron renews our sense of the past with challenging questions instead of easy answers. And he does so with a style that would make most historians envious." —Richard Lowry College of William and Mary
Advance praise for Unsolved Mysteries of American History
"An uncommonly satisfying read. Aron performs something of a minor miracle: He zeroes in on the very core of historical mysteries and provides new insights for reconsidering mystifying events." —Allan W. Eckert ,author of A Sorrow in Our Heart and Narratives of America
"Everyone loves a mystery and a history mystery best of all. Aron has assembled an impressive array of 'whodunits' ranging from whether Americans are descended from lost Atlantians to who did what to whom at the Watergate office complex." —Ivor Noel Hume, former director, Department of Archaeology, Colonial Williamsburg, author of The Virginia Adventure.
"For those who have passed beyond the riddle of who is buried in Grant's Tomb, Aron opens up more provocative mysteries. A lively tour through our past and an ingenious primer in the art of historical detection." —Robert A. Gross, author of The Minutemen and Their World.
"Extremely well written and absolutely intriguing. A page turner." —Robert Smith Thompson, author of A Time for War and The Missiles of October
Library Journal
Aron, a reporter for the Virginia Gazette, presents here his findings on significant "mysteries" of America's past. He briefly examines 30 controversial questions in chronological order, ranging from "When did the first people arrive in America?" to "What did Reagan know about Iran-contra?" Though he does not claim to provide definitive answers, he offers evidence for both sides of every issue. Each chapter ends with a bibliography. Perhaps the most interesting question tackled is "How did Davy Crockett die?"; Aron strongly suggests that Crockett surrendered at the Alamo rather than fighting to his death there. The author's simple, straightforward style is suitable for junior-high level and above. This volume is comparable to Richard Shenkman's Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History (Morrow, 1988). Recommended for public libraries.Norman Malwitz, Queens Borough P.L., Great Neck, N.Y.