Here is Where by Andrew Carroll

Author Andrew Carroll was inspired to write this book after visiting the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s son was saved by the brother of Lincoln’s assassin.  He sought out forgotten places filled with history.  The book is broken up into short chapters, each with a different topic.  It is a fairly quick read because you can read a little at a time and then go back to it later.

I’m not sure why some were included as “forgotten history” as the stories and places are fairly well known.  Some of the stories start out interesting, but then start to fizzle out. The stories sometimes tend to drift and I wish he had stayed on point!  Quite a few of the stories, however, are fascinating.  The ones I found most interesting: Mound City, about a disaster worse than the titanic; Hart Island, a huge potters field; and Robert Goddard’s Backyard, a real rocket scientist. 

I question the addition of a couple of the stories. One was a racial incident which made neither side look good.  A page of jokes about Jehovah’s Witnesses was the way the author chose to start a chapter on the abuse and discrimination against the Jehovah Witnesses. 

Overall, the book is an interesting and unique collection of stories.  

 Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.