When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain

November 9, 2015
With an easily digestible mix of humor, trivia, and solid research, Milton (Nathaniel’s Nutmeg) introduces a new series focused on examining bizarre and oft-forgotten historical episodes. He highlights dozens of seemingly too-good-to-be-true tales, including those of Charles Joughin, a baker who survived the sinking of the Titanic by drinking an enormous amount of whiskey (some say two bottles); Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker who smuggled some 2,500 Jewish children to safety during WWII; and Dutch seaman Volkert Evertszoon, who along, with his shipwrecked compatriots, is likely responsible for the extinction of the dodo bird. Readers will likely be surprised to find out that some apocryphal-sounding stories—such as that of the Japanese soldier who continued to fight WWII decades after it had ended—are true, and Milton provides sources for those interested in pursuing matters further. Though some of these stories have been told many times (the infamous escape from Alcatraz, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, the use of the Navajo language to foil Nazi code breakers, and the daring capture of Adolf Eichmann), there are plenty of fabulously dramatic adventures here that are less well known. Milton’s entertaining collection is sure to leave readers waiting for the next volume in the series.

October 15, 2015
Hitler's love child and other shocking speculations. In the mode of Ripley's Believe It or Not, Milton (Russian Roulette: How British Spies Thwarted Lenin's Plot for Global Revolution, 2014, etc.) has assembled an easily digestible compendium of historical oddities about the famous and infamous, including Hitler and Lenin, Agatha Christie (who went missing, inexplicably, for 11 days in 1926), Charles Lindbergh, and a 19th-century eccentric who proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. As he romps through the past, the author introduces a physician who plied Hitler with "an extraordinary cocktail of drugs, many of which are these days classed as dangerous, addictive, and illegal"; a pair of lovers who had a hard time poisoning the woman's husband; a shipwrecked party who resorted to cannibalism; and a "prolific murderess" of infants. Some vignettes highlight bizarre coincidences: a man who survived the bombing of Hiroshima fled to Nagasaki, only to experience yet another "blinding white flash." In 1945, Pastor Archie Mitchell and his pregnant wife took five schoolchildren on a picnic in southern Oregon. Suddenly, there was an explosion--a new Japanese weapon, a balloon bomb, killed everyone except Mitchell. In 1960, serving as a missionary in Vietnam, he was captured by the Viet Cong, never to be seen again. Some episodes, such as Hitler's last days, the Lindbergh baby's kidnapping, Adolf Eichmann's capture, and a Japanese soldier's insistent fighting of World War II until 1974, may be familiar to history buffs. Less known is the story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker, who smuggled Jewish babies out of Poland; Ota Benga, an African pygmy, who, in 1906, was caged with monkeys at the Bronx Zoo; and South African Sarah Baartman, forced to exhibit herself as the "Hottentot Venus." A few chapters will elicit a response of "so what?" But there's enough adventure, gore, and mystery to make this volume mostly entertaining.

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Starred review from November 15, 2015

A man on the RMS Titanic got so drunk that he survived the terrible cold of the North Atlantic water until he was pulled onto a lifeboat. Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days in 1926 and was found in a hotel under the name of her husband's mistress. These are just two of the fascinating accounts Milton (Russian Roulette; White Gold) shares in this wonderfully diverse collection. There are a total of 25 short tales, categorized into headings such as "I Never Knew That About Hitler" and "Ladies in Disguise." Each story is told in a narrative style that makes the reader feel the chill of Mount Everest, the fear in the trenches of two World Wars, and the hideousness of human cannibalism in the face of extreme starvation. Some of the stories will be more familiar but many more have been almost forgotten. For example, there is the odd death of Alfred Loewenstein, who fell out of his plane over the English Channel--or was he thrown out? VERDICT Fans of history, trivia, and Milton's previous works will delight in this collection of lesser-known historical stories.--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
History's lesser-known infamous moments, ranging from balloon bombs to China's last eunuch to the 1970s Andes plane crash, are told here in bite-size, simple text in chapters meant almost to raise questions rather than give the facts. Did the Andean plane-wreck survivors resort to cannibalism? Milton only says it was forbidden to some by religion, yet several survived the ordeal. Still, these stories, including the one true escape from Alcatraz, are fascinating, and at the very least, they will entertain those seeking a taste of the grisly and the bizarre. Those wanting more, and some may, will be spurred to additional sources, and lists of further reading are provided. The book is divided into numerous enticingly titled parts ( Hell in Japan, Not Enough Sex ), each beginning with a sourced quote. Some tales are inspirational, such as the story of Irene Sendler, who saved some 2,500 children and babies from the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. And did Hitler use cocaine? Per Milton's research, when Hitler directed the invasion of Russia, he was being pumped with as many as eighty different drugs. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)