Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America

This review is of the Audiobook version of Miracles and Massacres.Overall, this is an excellent publication.I am not a fan of history as taught in schools - rote memorization of names, dates, locations. What the history classes lack is the real reason why we study history: For the stories. Stories that teach us not just "who, when, and where" but also the "how" and the "why". I had only one history teacher in school that presented history as more than just a list of names and dates; I learned far more in that history class than all of the others combined. Not only did I learn about history, but I learned about morality, consequences, and very difficult choices.Miracles and Massacres reminds me of that high school history teacher. Here is well researched history presented in an engaging, entertaining way. You will hear the dates, yes, but they are of secondary importance to everything else. The chain of events is given center stage here. The decisions that are made, why the figures of history made them, and what the consequences were.This is how history should be taught in order to prevent ourselves from repeating it. If you yourself are generally turned off by history, or if you have a child in school that can't stand the class, try Miracles and Massacres and see if that changes your mind. I will be buying a copy as a Christmas gift for me niece.For those who have bought this publication and are enjoying it, I also recommend looking into the "Hardcore History" podcast series by Dan Carlin. They are very similar in nature, and Dan does an exceptional job of being very fair and presenting a very human perspective to history. The history in Miracles and Massacres is all American, and it shows us at our very best and at our very worst.Glenn and Dan should get together. The result would be phenomenal.The only reason I rated this four stars is that the Audiobook narrator does very poor accents. It was a bit distracting. When he uses his natural voice however, the reading is quite good.Also, there was no booklet or track listing included with the compact discs. If you want to find a particular story you will be unable to do so. Here is a track listing:Disc 1:1. Introduction2. Author's Notes and Dedication3. Jack Joulett, the Ride That Saved America4. Shay's Rebellion, Part 15. Shay's Rebellion, Part 2Disc 2:1. Shay's Rebellion, Part 32. Shay's Rebellion, Part 43. The Virginia Convention, Part 14. The Virginia Convention, Part 25. The Barbary War, Part 1Disc 3:1. The Barbary War, Part 22. The Barbary War, Part 33. Edison vs. Westinghouse, Part 1Disc 4:1. Edison vs. Westinghouse, Part 22. Edison vs. Westinghouse, Part 33. The Battle at Wounded Knee, Part 14. The Battle at Wounded Knee, Part 2Disc 5:1. The Battle at Wounded Knee, Part 32. Easy Eddie and the Hard Road to Redemption, Part 13. Easy Eddie and the Hard Road to Redemption, Part 24. The Saboteurs, Part 1Disc 6:1. The Saboteurs, Part 22. The Saboteurs, Part 33. Who Is Tokyo Rose, Part 14. Who Is Tokyo Rose, Part 2Disc 7:1. Who Is Tokyo Rose, Part 32. The Battle of Athens, Part 13. The Battle of Athens, Part 24. The My Lai Massacre, Part 1Disc 8:1. The My Lai Massacre, Part 22. The My Lai Massacre, Part 33. The Missing 9/11 Terrorist, Part 14. The Missing 9/11 Terrorist, Part 25. Closing / Simon and Schuster AdvertisementOnce you start, you will have a very hard time stopping.

To begin, this is my mother's Amazon account, I am only using it to write this review. I am not a Glenn-basher, and have attended many of his events in the past (I'm only 19). I have read his other books which were stellar and informative, like "Broke" and "Arguing with Idiots," so this review is based solely on my individual opinion of this separate work.This book, while I knew Glenn's intentions for writing it in the fashion that he did, fell short of the mark for me. The concept of creating a narrative, rather than adhering to the blunt facts (I am not saying he deviated from the facts) rubbed me the wrong way. I don't feel that it is right to engender extraneous details simply to conform to a preset agenda to create a fake dialogue which reads like a novel. In doing this, the prose read very clunky in some spots and was at times awkwardly phrased in others. If a story is truly compelling it should be able to stand on its own merits; to shine brilliantly the truth in its raw state, not through the burnished framework of a contrived dialogue or blatant exaggerations of various events. Glenn would argue that the other history books, with all that dry writing doesn't engage and grip the reader - I respectfully differ. He would say that when you tell an interesting story the reader will more easily be able to recall the importance of the events or circumstances - again, I am at odds.Perhaps it is a personal penchant, but when I read history I want the minutia, the petty details, the extensive correspondences, and the rock-solid facts. I don't care for the manner in which Glenn and his crack research team took literary liberties in constructing the the story. Too often, at the back of the book in the section entitled "About the Writing of this Book," I found repetitive alerts saying "Much of this scene was imagined." Why? I get the story aspect, but you can just as easily construct the story through the quoting of correspondence, primary source documents, films, interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, etc. A great example where such a tactic is effectively utilized would be Erik Larson's "Devil in the White City" which reads as it is a novel yet is unassailable in its corroborative sources.This is my theory: Glenn and his team are working at a breakneck pace to preserve history and remedy the progressive infection - which has touched our universities, and, subsequently, has eroded our understanding of history overtime - that they are quickly throwing together desultory works to inundate the culture with easily digestible history. History buffs like me who prefer a weightier read will be chagrined at this development. Out of practicality, time and cost don't allow for works of depth or rigorous application in way of detail. However, a caution should be advised then, if this is the course that will determine Glenn's future works. In the rush to correct the record, Glenn should be careful to not revise history as he would have it be painted. What do I mean?The tenth chapter, The Battle of Athens, was particularly gripping, shocking, and unfathomable. I was rapt by the corrupted local government and the extent of the corruption. I was heart-wrenched that the tyrant authorities would manhandle and rough up valiant soldier returning from various theaters of World World War II. Bill White, whom the story centers about, is, at least in Glenn's inferred telling, beat up by Windy Wise and the other deputies at some point after his return to Athens. While other soldiers (GIs) may have indeed been beat up according to the sources at the back of the book, that is immaterial to whether White was actually assaulted. We don't know if he was assaulted. For Beck (or his team of researchers/writers/editors) to allow for such a conjectured point is irresponsible, especially if we don't know it happened for sure. And though he says to read the back of the book to know which parts of the story were fact and which parts were merely based in fact, the mental association - that is, the part or connection that will stick with the reader is made in the initial reading, and not in the follow-up visitation of the sources. At least this is what I found to be true for myself. What will the reader remember: the heart rending story of Bill White or the other GIs being attacked or the source that says this is a literary mechanism to move the story along? Do you see the potential revisionist dangers inherent in this type of format?I am not saying Glenn would do anything of misleading or devious intent, because he wouldn't. He's far too honorable of a man to do that. "Miracles and Massacres" certainly contains some gems and does compel one to consider the line we've been fed over the years. Yet the substance (the meat) isn't there in this format whereby Glenn arranges 12 stories into 20-25 page chapters. Each story, in and of itself, could warrant an entire book of deep, unalloyed research.As it is, I would recommend it for young adults and to those who you're attempting to introduce to our history. I do not fault those who like the book, as we are all different and have our preferences. I highly recommend the chapters on the Barbary Pirates, Edison vs. Westinghouse, and the Nazi saboteurs as introductory pieces to spur other research. At its essence, the book is true to the facts; my concern is one of style and arrangement of said facts. Be assured though, Glenn will still be receiving my subscription for The Blaze TV.

Enjoyed the stories and some interesting ones that had never heard before. It is a worthwhile read for all ages and a book you don't need to try and read cover-to-cover instead it can be read a chapter every day.

This book had me riveted for 2 days straight! I love history. This book was a refreshing take on some amazing rarely talked about events in American history. It's historical fiction, and yet not! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

A master at writing.