The author of the highly successful History Channel series The Greatest Stories Never Told returns with new historic tales, this time focusing on amazing music stories that aren’t taught in the average classroom Rick Beyer plums the vast archives of the History Channel to deliver a treasure trove of obscure and fascinating stories to delight and entertain. The Greatest Music Stories Never Told continues the series tradition with short, fascinating tales accompanied by an array of stunning and diverse photographs from around the globe. The Greatest Music Stories Never Told illuminates the origins of a fascinating range of music topics, from instruments and styles to composers and technological advances—all which show us how little we really know. Guaranteed to astonish, bewilder, and stupefy, this all new volume will appeal not only to history buffs but to pop culture audiences and music fans of all ages and stripes.

Search the annals of military history and you will discover no end of quirky characters and surprising true stories: The topless dancer who saved the Byzantine Empire. The World War I battle that was halted so a soccer game could be played. The scientist who invented a pigeon-guided missile in 1943. And don't forget the elderly pig whose death triggered an international crisis between the United States and Great Britain. This is the kind of history you'll find in The Greatest War Stories Never Told. One hundred fascinating stories drawn from two thousand years of military history, accompanied by a wealth of photographs, maps, drawings, and documents that help bring each story to life. Little-known tales told with a one-two punch of history and humor that will make you shake your head in disbelief -- but they're all true! Did You Know That: One military unit served on both sides during the Civil War The War of Jenkins's Ear was actually fought over a sea captain's ear Daniel Boone was once tried for treason A siege on Poland in 1519 gave birth to the marriage of bread and butter Discover how war can be a catalyst for change; an engine for innovation; and an arena for valor, deceit, intrigue, ambition, revenge, audacity, folly, and even silliness. Want to know how the mafia helped the United States win World War II, when the word bazooka was coined, or how Silly Putty was invented? Read on!

100 tales of invention and discovery to astonish, bewilder, & stupefy Meet the angry undertaker who gave us the push-button phone. Discover how modesty led to the invention of the stethoscope. Find out why Albert Einstein patented a refrigerator. Learn how a train full of trumpeters made science history. Did you know about: The frustrated fashion designer who created the space suit? The gun-toting newspaperman who invented the parking meter? The midnight dreams that led to a Nobel Prize? They're so good, you can't read just one!

What most of us don't know about our presidents could fill a book—and this just happens to be that book! From the archives of The History Channel® comes a treasure trove of quirky presidential history that will truly astonish, bewilder, and stupefy. Like Abraham Lincoln's duel or Jimmy Carter's UFO sighting . . . and let's not forget about the president who went skinny-dipping in the Potomac every day! That's the kind of presidential history you'll find in The Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told: One hundred little-known stories to make you shake your head in wonder. If you want to find out how "Hail to the Chief" came to be the president's song, why the Oval Office isn't square, which president saved the game of football, and why Washington, D.C., could have been named Hertburn, this is the book for you. Did You Know About: The custody battle that made George Washington an American? The counterfeiters who tried to steal Lincoln's body? The woman who brought down Andrew Jackson's cabinet? The man who was president for a day? You know what makes the presidents famous, but it's the stuff you don't know that makes them interesting. A feast of fascinating presidential tidbits awaits.

Collection of fifteen stories of heroism.

This story is based on a true love story that spanned almost two decades. The names and places have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved in this affair. The chronological sequence of events has been maintained for continuity. All the stories and experiences are based on facts. This book is about a love story that was kept secret for 18 years and perhaps shouldve remained a secret. The first book related to this love story was a book of poems entitled Somewhere, Sometime, Somehow: Love Poems and Short Stories published in 2008 by this author and Xlibris. For the perceptive reader of this book one can trace the ups and downs of our love relationship. These 18 years were filled with robust love and passion for each other. Perhaps it was fantasy; perhaps it was the most real thing we will ever experience. The heartbreaking part of this love affair is that I am not really sure my lover ever really understood or appreciated my profound and unconditional love for her. I opened my heart to her through poetry and thoughtful letters, but she rarely showed me what was in her heart. Perhaps it was a one-sided love affair, but I surely think and hope not. I was convinced that she truly loved me through her words and actions. At least I experienced a pure love that I had only dreamed was possible. The story is told mainly through the exchange of letters and emails to each other. Perhaps readers can experience and hopefully feel the deep love we felt for each other.

“What we call imagination is actually the universal library of what’s real. You couldn’t imagine it if it weren’t real somewhere, sometime.” – Terence Mckenna Scientific theories that were once considered right and mighty were later proven wrong. This is the case even with the best and most thorough scrutiny and investigation. There is no knowing when a better scientific theory will come to replace the old. It is clear that the study of Sumerian clay tablets will continue to interest areas of science, history, archaeology, cosmology, and more, due to its continued “effect” of encompassing studies from unrelated fields. The Sumerians were the most extraordinary people who ever lived on the face of the earth. They seemed to come from out of nowhere, and they single-handedly invented civilization when most of the rest of the world was still living in the Stone Age. What’s more, they did it thousands of years before anyone else. The Sumerian civilization was already ancient when it ended in 2004 B.C., twenty centuries before Julius Caesar, sixteen centuries before Socrates, and seven centuries before Tutankhamen. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know about.” ~ Wayne Dyer

Tuberculosis is the greatest killer of all time. In this century and the previous one, it was responsible for the deaths of a thousand million human beings. Half way through the 20th century, people did not believe that a cure would ever be possible, but a few scientists throughout the world each played a part in finding that cure. The discovery changed history, yet that story has never been told.

*A New York Times Bestseller* Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman reveal the full story behind their epic romance—presented in a series of intimate conversations between the couple, including photos, anecdotes, and the occasional puzzle. The year: 2000. The setting: Los Angeles. A gorgeous virtuoso of an actress agreed to star in a random play, and a basement-dwelling scenic carpenter said he would assay a supporting role in the selfsame pageant. At the first rehearsal she surveyed her fellow cast members, determining if any of the men might qualify to provide her with a satisfying fling. Her gaze fell upon the carpenter, and like a bolt of lightning the thought struck her: no dice. Moving on. Yet, unbeknownst to our protagonists, Cupid had merely set down his bow and picked up a rocket launcher...that fired a love rocket (not a euphemism). The players were Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, and the resulting romance, once ignited, was...epic. Beyond epic. It resulted in a coupling that has endured to this day; a sizzling, perpetual tryst that has captivated the world with its kindness, athleticism, astonishingly low-brow humor, and true (fire emoji) passion. How did they do it? They came from completely different families, ignored a significant age difference, and were separated by the gulf of several social strata. Megan loved books and art history; Nick loved hammers. But much more than these seemingly unsurpassable obstacles were the values they held in common: respect, decency, the ability to mention genitalia in almost any context, and an abiding obsession with the songs of Tom Waits. Eighteen years later, they're still very much in love and have finally decided to reveal the philosophical mountains they have conquered, the lessons they've learned, and the myriad jigsaw puzzles they've completed. Presented as an oral history in a series of conversations between the couple, the book features anecdotes, hijinks, photos, and a veritable grab bag of tomfoolery. This is not only the intoxicating book that Mullally's and Offerman's fans have been waiting for, it might just hold the solution to the greatest threat facing our modern world: the single life.

Discover little-known stories from music history—including murder, riots, and heartbreak—in this entertaining tour through the fascinating (and surprising) lives of classical music masters With outrageous anecdotes about everyone from Gioachino Rossini (draft-dodging womanizer) to Johann Sebastian Bach (jailbird) to Richard Wagner (alleged cross-dresser), Secret Lives of Great Composers recounts the seamy, steamy, and gritty history behind the great masters of international music. Here, you’ll learn that Edward Elgar dabbled with explosives; that John Cage was obsessed with fungus; that Berlioz plotted murder; and that Giacomo Puccini stole his church’s organ pipes and sold them as scrap metal so he could buy cigarettes. This is one music history lesson you’ll never forget!