Hey! Happy New Year!

I've been really thinking about this newsletter and it makes me feel kinda shitty that it has devolved into me just sending epiosde links. You know what I mean? Like, what value am I actually providing? Why should anybody give a shit?

So, I'm gonna fix that...for some of you.

If you like books; if you're like me and you're continually adding stuff to your monster "to read" list then this is gonna be for you because I'm going to focus this mailing list on sharing books. Not long, "I-don't-have-time-to-read-your-review" emails. Short ones. Ones that feel like text messages.

Here's what I'm commiting to provding (commitment is important):

1. One book per email
2. A consise reason for why I'm sharing it
3. A quote to give you the feel for the style

I'll still include links for recent episodes but that will be just short note at the bottom.

Oh, and if you're not a book person, don't worry. Not everybody is so don't feel bad about unsubscribing. We all like different stuff and that's healthy.

Okay, this is already longer than I wanted it to be so let's get to the book.

An Underground Education — Richard Sacks

Available on Amazon & Bookshop.​

I've owned this book for over twenty one years — in fact the last time I read it cover to cover was Jan 2000. I has ton's of highlighter marks from then.

There isn't really an adequate way to describe this books except to say that it's a book of bizzare facts and stories from history, science, ect. Here are some example section headings:

• Lopping Off Misconceptions About the Guillotine
• Erotic Church Art
• Peering Over the Shoulder of Early Gynecologists
• Nero: trying to kill his mother
• Winston Churchill was Flogged
• To Fart or Not to Fart

And here's a taste:

Snow White

"For once, Disney restored a gory detail left out in most American translations of Snow White. Disney has the jealous queen demanding Snow White's heart.

In the original Grimm telling, there's quite a bit more gore. The queen—who's no longer fairest in the land—orders the huntsman to bring her the heart and the tongue of Snow White. Once the queen has the two organs, she eats them. (The lady, of course, doesn't realize that she is actually snacking on boar.)

At the end, when Snow White is revived and marries the prince, the evil queen attends the wedding. She is surprised when a pair of metal shoes, flaming hot from the oven, are carried out. The wicked queen is forced to put them on, and then dances herself to death."

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This book was one of the sources I used in last Tuesday's podcast episode: Any Crazy Thought You Can Think Your Mind Will Make You Believe. I used it for some of the info of the battle between Westinghouse and Edison.

Available on Amazon & Bookshop.​

—CH—

If any of you have read this, shoot me an email and tell me what you though of it.