Giles Milton is a writer and journalist. He has contributed articles to most of the British national newspapers as well as many foreign publications, and specializes in the history of travel and exploration. In the course of his researches, he has traveled extensively in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. He has written several books of nonfiction, including the bestselling Nathaniel's Nutmeg, and has been translated into fifteen languages worldwide. He is the author of the novel Edward Trencom's Nose
"If you get a kick out of odd historical trivia like that,
you'll devour "When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain,"
the first installment in Giles Milton's new "History's Unknown
Chapters" series. Packed with 50 stories your social studies
teacher probably skipped, the book sports a wandering eye and witty
voice that make for diverting winter reading."--The Washington
Post A list of insurance claims taken out on pets drowned with
the Titanic. A legend detailing the various forms of Chinese
castrati. A detailed description--by the oh-so-fittingly named Sir
Hamon L'Estrange--of a dodo a mere quarter century before the
bird's extinction. These moments are the winking epigraphs of
grinning Death, gleaned from Giles Milton's history of the bizarre,
the obfuscated and the macabre. And what a history it is!--Paste
Magazine 50 brief but detailed stories, from the hilarious to
the absurd.--The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Fans of history, trivia, and Miilton's previous works will delight
in this collection of lesser-known historical stories.--Library
Journal (starred review) Stranger than fiction? Possibly, but
life always seems to create more bizarre people and unforeseen
happenings than most writers will ever
imagine.--CounterPunch "[An] easily digestible mix of humor,
trivia, and solid research....Dozens of seemingly
too-good-to-be-true tales...There are plenty of fabulously dramatic
adventures here...Milton's entertaining collection is sure to leave
readers waiting for the next volume in the series.--Publishers
Weekly "Milton has assembled an easily digestible compendium of
historical oddities about the famous and infamous."--Kirkus
Reviews
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