Bøger af Mark Strecker

"Wild yarns and plausible legends cling to a number of historical events, including the French and Indian War, Confederate general John Morgan's raid into Ohio, Prohibition, John Dillinger's bank robbing career, and the California Gold Rush. The hope of finding these riches has inspired treasure hunters since Ohio became a state. But enthusiasm has its drawbacks, for many an Ohioan has been duped by con artists toting everything from divining rods and magic tomes to dubious devices like the "scientific gold compass."--

World War I started in August 1914, but the United States did not enter it until April 6, 1917. The outbreak caused thousands of American civilians to become refugees desperate to get away from the warzone. This book tells some of their stories.

Shanghaiing, the forcing of a man to sail on a merchant ship against his will, plagued the seafaring world between 1849 and 1915. Shanghaiing existed because of a confluence of events involving the opium trade, tea, gold, and the opening of the Suez Canal. A shortage of sailors and the unwillingness of seamen to set foot on certain types of ships were also issues. Seamen suffered from great deprivations, all for a paltry sum usually squandered during shore leave.

The practice of big business promoting war to profit materially was firmly in place by the time Major General Smedley D. Butler wrote about it in his anti-corporate pamphlets. This historical biography explores the life of Butler, a little-known American Marine who exposed an alleged fascist coup to remove President Franklin D. Roosevelt from office.