Unsolved Mysteries of American History: An Eye-Opening Journey through 500 Years of Discoveries, Disappearances, and Baffling Events

"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 WorldbrbrDid Leif Ericsson beat Columbus to America? What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? Did Pocahontas really save John Smith? Did Davy Crockett die at the Alamo? What really happened to Amelia Earhart, and was she a spy? Who killed JFK?brbrUnsolved Mysteries of American History re-creates the most mystifying events of our past, following some of our greatest historians as they search for the elusive answers. Spanning more than five centuries--from Leif Ericsson and Columbus through Watergate and Iran-Contra--Aron makes sense of all the latest discoveries and speculations. Here is everything you could ever want from a detective story: dramatic twists and turns, intellectual challenges, frustrating dead-ends, murderous mayhem, and thrilling espionage.brbr"Stimulating and pleasurable, fair and objective . . . recommended for both the history buff and the fan of true-life mysteries."--Kirkus Reviewsbrbr"Everyone loves a mystery and a history mystery best of all. Aron has assembled an impressive array of 'whodunits.'" --Ivor Noel Hume, former director, Department of Archaeology, Colonial Williamsburg author of The Virginia Adventurebrbr"A welcome gateway for historical exploration." --Booklistbrbr"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 Sorrow in Our Heart

In a collection of 30 articles, iUnsolved Mysteries of American History/i takes some of the most notable quandaries of the American past and tries to offer some solid answers, or at least alternate explanations. Paul Aron takes on the serious ("Why did Truman drop the bomb?") as well as the frivolous ("Did Babe Ruth call his shot?"). The book is written to entertain, but Aron provides a bibliography for further reading at the end of each essay, and steers readers to heavier tomes if they wish to dig deeper into the various subjects.