A Treasury of Great American Scandals

BOOK: A Treasury of Great American Scandals
2.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
Table of Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PENGUIN BOOKS
A TREASURY OF GREAT AMERICAN SCANDALS
Michael Farquhar is the author of
A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Deception,
and
A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans.
A former writer and editor at the
Washington Post
specializing in history, he is coauthor of
The Century: History As It Happened on the Front Page of the Capital's Newspaper.
His work has been featured in a number of publications, and he has appeared as a commentator on such programs as the History Channel's
Russia: Land of the Tsars
and
The French Revolution
.
PENGUIN BOOKS
 
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA), 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell,
Victoria 3124, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi-110 017, India
Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany,
Auckland, New Zealand
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
 
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
 
First published in Penguin Books 2003
 
 
Copyright © Michael Farquhar, 2003
All rights reserved
 
Illustration credits:
Page ii: T. Patterson Clark. xii, 34, 132, 228, 270: The Granger Collection,
New York. 112: David Levine. Courtesy of Kathy Hayes Associates.
168: From
Herblock: A Cartoonist's Life
(Times Books, 1998). Courtesy of
The Herb Block Foundation.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:
 
Farquhar, Michael.
A treasury of great American scandals : tantalizing true tales of historic misbehavior by
the founding fathers and others who let freedom swing / Michael Farquhar.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN : 978-1-440-68418-0
1. Scandals—United States—History—Anecdotes. 2. United States—History—
Anecdotes. 3. United States—Politics and government—Anecdotes.
4. Statesmen—United States—Bibliography—Anecdotes. 5. Politicians—
United States—Biography—Anecdotes. I. Title.
 
E179.F3 2003
973'.09'9—dc21 2003044457
 
 
 
The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

http://us.penguingroup.com

This is dedicated to my aunt and uncle,
Mary Jane and Bill Foote,
with love and gratitude for
all their support and enthusiasm.
Introduction
America the beautiful has scored incredibly well in the great pageant of history, but there have been a few stumbles along the way. That's okay. Sometimes the blunders are the best part of the show. Many less than stellar interludes in the American experience are included in this collection, but nothing after 1980—not a peep about DNA-STAINED dresses, for example, or astrologically influenced First Ladies. History needs a little time to percolate, after all. Besides, the first three centuries of American scandal should put a little perspective on the relatively minor sins of recent memory.
Certainly the worst episodes of our national past, from Indian degradation to slavery, deserve serious treatment—but in other books. Here the concentration is on individuals, rather than institutions, behaving badly. And though many movie stars, career criminals, and business tycoons have contributed their share to the stew pot of scandal, the people in and around government have consistently added the most spice. Consequently, the focus of this treasury is on them. Their foibles and failures, while sometimes tarnishing the ideals we hold dear, nevertheless provide the dirt in which we so often delight.
BOOK: A Treasury of Great American Scandals
2.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Pick-me-up by Cecilia La France
Headhunters by Charlie Cole
Bloodlust by Michelle Rowen
Bloodline by Sidney Sheldon