l2910 Jennifer Fitzgerald spent decades at the right hand of George H. W. Bush before becoming one of Washington’s most talked-about but least documented figures. In August 1992, during Bush’s re-election campaign, she was thrust into the national spotlight when allegations of a decades-long affair appeared in print, threatening to unravel his presidency. Born Jennifer Anne … Read more
Carol Bonnet was found dead on the floor of his downtown Omaha apartment on October 17, 1978. Beside his body lay a note from his killer: “I am leaving this crime with only one clue. Find it yourself. Die, pig. ” Police lifted fingerprints from the bathroom door, the medicine cabinet, beer cans, and the … Read more
On April 17, 1963, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle walked into a room full of reporters in New York and delivered a decision that made front-page news from coast to coast. He suspended Green Bay Packers star Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras indefinitely for gambling on NFL games. The punishment, described as … Read more
By 1963, the fourth best-selling soft drink in the United States was not made by Coca-Cola or Pepsi. It was made by a small company in Columbus, Georgia, a city most Americans could not find on a map. The drink was called Diet Rite, and it had no sugar and no calories at a time … Read more
When Union prisoners entered Andersonville prison in early May 1864, they found themselves surrounded by a terrifying enclosure. Pine logs 24 feet long were embedded eight feet into the earth, leaving 16 feet rising above ground, forming a massive barrier around roughly 15 to 18 acres. Sentries stood on platforms about 12 or 13 feet … Read more
Min mamma försökte kapa mitt bröllop. Inget får familjeskador att ytna fortare än ett bröllop. Det upptäckte jag när jag satt på golvet i min lägenhet i en halvöppen morgonrock, omgiven av tygprover, gästlistor och en kall kopp kaffe som jag hela tiden glömde att dricka. Min fästman stod vid köksbänken och försökte jämföra cateringoffertar … Read more
Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, was once one of Britain’s most admired society figures, celebrated for her beauty, wealth, and fashion sense. But in 1963, a scandal erupted that destroyed her reputation forever and made her the subject of headlines worldwide. Born Ethel Margaret Whigham on December 1, 1912, in Renfrewshire, Scotland, she grew up … Read more
The morning of April 6, 1862, did not begin with thunder. It began with birdsong, a detail that tells you almost everything about the state of the Union camps spread across the slopes above Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee. The thousands of men sleeping in those tents were mostly teenagers who had left farms and factories just … Read more
In April 1944, over the North Sea, a German fighter pilot watched a downed American airman sitting alone in a bright yellow life raft. The water temperature was barely above freezing, and the man was about 80 kilometers from land. Observers like this knew what usually followed: hypothermia, then death. Rescue was not expected. But … Read more
On the night of October 22, 1883, two opera houses opened in New York within an hour of each other, about 25 blocks apart. One was old, exclusive, and virtually impossible to enter. The other was brand new, built out of pure spite. The old house was the Academy of Music, the private clubhouse of … Read more