When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep and Stalin Robbed a Bank

September 15, 2016
The British journalist continues to collect little-known events and factoids from history.Readers seeking something along the lines of 1066 and All That or The Book of Heroic Failures should look elsewhere, as Milton (When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain: History's Unknown Chapters, 2016, etc.) offers very brief tales of massacres, slavery, World War II failures, and world leaders and the truth about their lives and demises--e.g., George III may have suffered from bipolar disorder, and Stalin was poisoned. The author also shares the story of Witold Pilecki, who broke into (and out of) Auschwitz and whose 1943 report was pointedly ignored and not published until 2000, while Auschwitz escapees Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler finally--and too late--convinced the Allies with their 1944 report. Many of Milton's tales contain entertaining trivia facts, such as the source of the 18th-century South Sea Bubble and the framing of Mata Hari, but many are also horror stories, such as the Allied firebombing of Pforzheim and the 946 men who died in a D-Day practice run, some torpedoed, some killed by friendly fire. Personal stories of survivors shed light on history's horrors, and the author's research has turned up quite a few incidents that don't make the history books. Part of the reason is that some of the tales are just not interesting anymore. However, the entries are short and highly readable. Regarding the title episode, Milton chronicles Churchill's testing of biological weapons (in this case, anthrax bombs) during the war on a remote island whose current inhabitants "are a flock of sheep who munch on the grass, blissfully unaware of the deadly spores that until recently infected their island home." Perfect for bathroom reading or a doctor's waiting room.

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Starred review from November 1, 2016

Milton follows up his first book in the series, When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain, with 50 more tales of lesser-known history featuring aplomb and succinct storytelling, along with an engaging sense of humor. The book is divided into two parts of nine and eight chapters, respectively; the stories within contain just a few pages each but pack a wallop of amusing information. Readers will learn about the terrible experiment of the title involving Britain's Winston Churchill, as well as the prime minister's desire for chemical warfare in both World Wars. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's ruthlessness as a robber and his mysterious death in 1953 are both examined as well. Other stories include a Papal party (if it actually occurred) to shame modern college fraternity and sorority gatherings, the first group to reach the top of the Matterhorn (and the subsequent disaster on the way down), and the man who jumped out of a helium balloon 19 miles above the Earth 50 years before Felix Baumgartner made a viral video of the same act. VERDICT For readers who love odd history tidbits, this is the perfect addition to any library, especially those that own the previous volume.--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

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