Echoes from the Smithsonian: America's History Brought to Life

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is a treasure house displaying enough memorabilia to keep enraptured tourists regaled for days. It is a museum that, as the subtitle of John McCollister's Echoes from the Smithsonian indicates, brings America's history to life. Debunking various myths and legends from America's past, McCollister tells the true stories behind the articles on exhibit in the Smithsonian. Exposing the hyperbole behind our tall tales, his delightful wit elicits from the reader numerous laughs and chuckles. At the Smithsonian one can view such artifacts as the "cursed" Hope Diamond; Archie Bunker's chair; the Lone Ranger's mask; Edgar Bergen's favorite puppet, Charlie McCarthy; Mr. Rogers' sweater; the Wright Brothers' Flyer; the capsule of Mercury 7; Ben Franklin's stove; and also Franklin's armonica, a musical instrument played by rubbing one's fingers against rotating glass (a device used by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). We learn the true story of the Alamo; the surprising secret of Charlie Darkey Parkhurst; the origin of "taps," "hookers," and "the whole nine yards"; the one-day presidency of David Rice Atchison; Vladimir Zworykin, the father of television; and the man who created the assembly-line process of manufacturing (no, it wasn't Henry Ford; it was Eli Whitney). When Gary Cooper was chosen to play Lou Gehrig in Pride of the Yankees, there was one small problem. Gehrig was a left-handed batter; Cooper was a "righty." No problem. Instead of taking the time to teach Cooper how to hit left-handed, the producers simply flipped the film for shooting and reversed it when the scenes were edited. Cooper worse a specially crafted uniform with the Yankee logo and the number four reversed. When "Gehrig" (Cooper) hit the ball, he would run to third base, then to second, then to first, and back to home. One learns that Thomas Jefferson did not accept the deity of Jesus, a basic dogma of Christianity, but cut and pasted excerpts from the Gospels to make his own bowdlerized version of Scripture, and that Jefferson considered St. Paul to be "the first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus." One could mention other fascinating tidbits of trivia, but this suffices to give an idea of the book's contents. The book has ten chapters: The Shaping of a New Nation, America at War, Politics and the Presidents, Aviation and Space Technology, Business and Industry, Arts and Entertainment, Sports, African American History, Native American History, and Religion. Unfortunately, numerous errors occur in the text. For example, the dates of "America's First Genius," Benjamin Franklin, are given as 1706-1990 (sic); the Civil War battle of Chickamauga Creek in said to have taken place in Tennessee (actually, it occurred in Georgia); "lightning and thunder" are spelled "lightening and thunder"; and a reference to evangelist Billy Sunday, says, "Nobody could ever doubt that he was he was [sic] one of the most colorful characters of American hist

Echoes from the Smithsonian: America's History Brought To Life is an engaging anthology of vignettes of American history connected to historical artifacts on display in the Smithsonian museum. Short stories about amazing turning points in the nation and in the lives of its most famous and notable figures, and a handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate such priceless items as the allegedly cursed Hope Diamond, a portrait of President William Henry Harrison (whose determination to brave below-freezing temperatures to give a long inaugural speech led to his contraction of pneumonia and untimely death one month after taking office), to a photograph of the doctor who revolutionized the method of saving lives with blood transfusions, and much more fill this entertaining compilation that can be read all at once or savored a bit at a time. An enjoyable way to skim highlights of America's grand history.

Every school that sends its students to an annual class trip to Washington, D.C. (and most do), should have a copy of John McCollister's book to read before they go. Here's a vivid collection of astonishing-but-true stories and anecdotes about the artifacts and memorabilia in the Smithsonian museum complex. It would be a shame to miss the fun by not reading it ahead of time. Here the reader will find the real - and shocking - reason behind the 1836 battle for the Alamo. It has to do with the right of settlers to own slaves in Mexican territory when Mexico had outlawed slavery, and not the mythical story (and movies) many love. Here, too, is the entertaining account of how Astronaut John Glenn was tempted to apply for $80,000 in "travel expenses" when he orbited the earth, but had to settle for the usual NASA scale, $8.00 a day. Dr. McCollister's book also debunks the famous story about Lincoln's Gettysburg address, which was not written in fifteen minutes on the back of an envelope as the story goes, but which did get, in reality, a poor reception from newspaper reporters and reviewers that fateful day. While it's definitely not a catalogue, ECHOES FROM THE SMITHSONIAN, America's History Brought to Life, is much, much more. The reader will find the best and most fascinating stories told in McCollister's, clean, lively prose directly connected to actual artrifacts and memorabilia on display in the Smithsonian museums. Which include The National Museum of Natural History, the Behgrig Center, the Arts and Industries Building, the famed Air and Space Museum, the Center for African History and Culture, the National Postal Museum, the Musseum of the American Indian, and the National Portrait Gallery. Among the more incredible tales (but like all the rest, absolutely true) is the explanation of why Wilbur and Orville Wright were so mad at the Smithsonian and the U.S. government after their historic flight, that they refused to let the Smithsonian exhibit their airplane, and instead shipped it to a museum in England. (The plane has now been returned to the Smithsonian in Washington.) And the true, rather spooky history of the "Curse of the Hope Diamond," the huge dark blue stone now on display in the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals. Plus, the reader will also find why Abner Doubleday really didn't invent baseball. Even if you aren't a student on a class trip, don't go to Washington without it.