A book that I recently acquired for the purposes of giving it away.

Interesting tidbits of history, most of which are new to me. I knew that the Bastille was not an important prison, but I did not realize that it was torn down by the people as part of the Revolution. I did not know the basis of kamikaze pilots or that surfing was a religious ritual. It seems Lucrezia Borgia was a better person than she is painted, but Cleopatra was not as attractive as legend makes out. A real collection of various bits and pieces of interest to a wide swath of folks.

This book is part of the Biographies of Things book box started by MaryZee and continued in her memory.

Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.

I'm claiming this from the Biographies of Things bookbox. I like this kind of snippets-of-history book, and hope to find a good home for it in one of the town's new Little Free Libraries once I've read it.

Later: Lots of entertaining tidbits here, including the use of modern science to reveal hidden texts on old, re-used parchments and other types of surfaces. Inventions, disasters, discoveries, and more!

I left this book in the charming Little Free Library on Nubble Point, not far from the scenic Nubble Lighthouse. (The LFL is taken down in the winter, and I was glad to see it back now that summer's here.) Hope someone enjoys the book!

[See other recent releases in ME here.]

*** Released for the 2019 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***