Kevin O'Malley

Georgia Bragg

A look at the deaths of several famous people throughout history and the circumstances surrounding those deaths.

The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

How They Croaked

Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes, epic failures even lead to super successes . . . sometimes they become deep dark secrets. But remember--to fail is human, to laugh about our shortcomings divine. From Montezuma II's mistaking a conqueror for a god to Isaac Newton turning from science to alchemy to J. Bruce Ismay's jumping the lifeboat line on the Titanic, How They Choked knocks fourteen famous achievers off their pedestals to reveal the human side of history. Successful "failures" include: Marco Polo • Queen Isabella of Spain • Montezuma II • Ferdinand Magellan • Anne Boleyn • Isaac Newton • Benedict Arnold • Susan B. Anthony • George Armstrong Custer • Thomas Alva Edison • Vincent Van Gogh • J. Bruce Ismay • "Shoeless Joe" Jackson • Amelia M. Earhart

Failures, Flops, and Flaws of the Awfully Famous

How They Choked

Over the course of history, famous people made mistakes that were so monumental they could never escape them, no matter how brilliant their successes! Ferdinand Magellan is credited as the first man to sail around the world . . . but he only actually made it halfway. His terrible treatment of everyone he met cut his life journey short. Queen Isabella of Spain is remembered for financing Columbus's expeditions-and for creating the Spanish Inquisition. J. Bruce Ismay commissioned the unsinkable marvel of the sea, the Titanic-and then jumped the line of women and children to escape death on a lifeboat. Readers will be fascinated well past the final curtain and will empathize with the flawed humanity of these achievers. Famous successful "failures" include: Marco Polo • Queen Isabella of Spain • King Montezuma II • Anne Boleyn • Ferdinand Magellan • Isaac Newton • Benedict Arnold • George Armstrong Custer • Vincent Van Gogh • Susan B. Anthony • Thomas Alva Edison • J. Bruce Ismay • Amelia M. Earhart • Joseph Jefferson Jackson ("Shoeless Joe")

Matisse adore la peinture. Chaque jour, après l’école, il se rend au musée où sa mère est responsable de la sécurité pour s’entraîner à copier les chefs-d’oeuvre accrochés au mur. Un soir, en pleins préparatifs d’une exposition consacrée à Henri Matisse, le nouveau système de sécurité du musée tombe en panne. Matisse se retrouve seul dans la salle des tableaux du maître à qui il doit son prénom, sans caméras, ni gardiens. Il vient de terminer une reproduction parfaite du Portrait de Pierre Matisse. Il sait que c’est stupide et dangereux, mais il ne résiste pas et remplace le tableau original par sa copie, juste pour voir ce que ça fait d’être exposé dans un musée. Quand l’alarme se remet à fonctionner, Matisse n’a pas le temps de remettre à sa place l’original. Et maintenant, comment va-t-il faire pour échanger les tableaux ?

L'affaire Matisse

A humorous look at how famous people got caught, including Joan of Arc, Blackbeard, Al Capone, and more! From the award-winning team that brought you How They Croaked and How They Choked. Outlaw, assassin, art thief, and spy, these fourteen troublemakers and crooks--including Blackbeard the pirate, Typhoid Mary, and gangster Al Capone--have given the good guys a run for their money throughout the ages. Some were crooked, some were deadly, and some were merely out of line--but they all got Caught! as detailed in this fascinating and funny study of crime, culture, and forensic science. FEATURING HISTORY'S MOST WANTED: Joan of Arc, Sir Walter Raleigh, Caravaggio, Blackbeard, John Wilkes Booth, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Mata Hari, Typhoid Mary, Rasputin, Vincenzo Peruggia (Mona Lisa thief), Bernard Kuehn (Pearl Harbor spy), Anna Anderson (Anastasia impersonator), and Al Capone

Georgia Bragg

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