Here Is Where: Discovering America's Great Forgotten History

By Andrew Carroll

Here Is Where chronicles Andrew Carroll’s eye-opening – and at times hilarious -- journey across America to find and explore unmarked historic sites where extraordinary moments occurred and remarkable individuals once lived. Sparking the idea for this book was Carroll’s visit to the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s son was saved by the brother of Lincoln’s assassin. Carroll wondered, How many other unmarked places are there where intriguing events have unfolded and that we walk past every day, not realizing their significance? To answer that question, Carroll ultimately trekked to every region of the country -- by car, train, plane, helicopter, bus, bike, and kayak and on foot. Among the things he learned:
 
*Where in North America the oldest sample of human DNA was discovered
 
* Where America’s deadliest maritime disaster took place, a calamity worse than the fate of the Titanic
 
*Which virtually unknown American scientist saved hundreds of millions of lives
 
*Which famous Prohibition agent was the brother of a notorious gangster
 
*How a 14-year-old farm boy’s brainstorm led to the creation of television
 
Featured prominently in Here Is Where are an abundance of firsts (from the first use of modern anesthesia to the first cremation to the first murder conviction based on forensic evidence); outrages (from riots to massacres to forced sterilizations); and breakthroughs (from the invention, inside a prison, of a revolutionary weapon; to the recovery, deep in the Alaskan tundra, of a super-virus; to the building of the rocket that made possible space travel). Here Is Where is thoroughly entertaining, but it’s also a profound reminder that the places we pass by often harbor amazing secrets and that there are countless other astonishing stories still out there, waiting to be found. 

Look for Andrew's new book, My Fellow Soldiers. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: May 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9780307463999

Andrew Carroll

Andrew Carroll is the editor of three New York Times bestsellers, including Letters of a Nation and War Letters. Visit www.warletters.com.

Reviews for Here Is Where

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

America from the angle of what we (mostly) don't choose to memorialize and where it happened. The good, the bad, the ugly are each given a brief turn or return to the spotlight. Interesting but not terribly compelling, it was amusing that the author could become bored in seconds by a tourist's enthusiasm for old furniture.

[lmjenkins · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love a good non-fiction book that teaches me something about culture, history or art. This book will give you little tidbits of information that will be useful when traveling, at cocktail parties or just when you want to drop a little knowledge to impress. Worth a read!

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A collection of stories about little known historical events and the author's search for what remains of these sites. There are so many of them, that anyone should be able to find something of interest. My favorite was the story about how anesthesia was discovered and began to be used for dental and medical purposes.

[jfkelson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fun way to learn a lot of history -- some obscure, some I probably should have known all along, but didn't. Very well written, and the extensive research of the author is obvious. I found one little date discrepancy, but otherwise, can't think of a single reason not to recommend this book to everyone I know!

[fantasia655 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book of one man's search for historical places that don't have historical markers. He travels around the U.S. to search for lost and forgotten history.

[bnbookgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Some great history and some that I skimmed over. I loved the Dowagiac Train Station, Paris-Cope Service Station, The Remains of Prometheus, and Mankato River Bank. It is so interesting to think of all the places we drive by every day where something historical happened, yet we know nothing about it. Thank goodness for authors like Andrew Carroll who take the time to investigate these sites. think there is enough variety in this book to appeal to most everyone. It is definitely a great read for any history buff. I

[libstaff2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 StarsA smart, humorous, and well-researched book about obscure historical places and people and their significance in American history. The work is fun and informative, the writing has a nice flow to it, and it's been done respectfully. One of the best historical and anecdotal travelogues I have come across in a while. Recommended for history buffs and road trip fanatics. I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

[mrlzbth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this one! It was a good read for summer, as there's a "history road trip" feel to the whole thing as Carroll travels the U.S. in search of sites where lesser-known historical events occurred. He picks a good variety of events and keeps things moving at a enjoyable pace. Highly recommended!

[arielfl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this to be a really fascinating book especially if you are a fellow lover of history. The author traveled around the country visiting the places that for the most part are forgotten. Some things I knew about like Edison electrocuting that poor elephant at the Jersey Shore but most stories related in the book were new to me like how doggedly Washington pursued an escaped slave that belonged to his wife. Not the way you normally think of the founding father. The book is broken up into sections covering among other topics explorers, the growth of land, crimes and lawsuits, inventions, medical pioneers, and the forgotten dead. The invention section was a little dry for me but my husband would have absolutely loved it. There is something for everyone in this book. My fourteen year old daughter even used it for a writing project over the summer for her IB class. If you want something interesting to talk about at your next holiday gathering then grab this book. It would also make a really nice gift. On a final note I think the author did a really great thing by singing the praises of the all of the people across this country who work on a mainly volunteer basis in order to keep history alive. They staff the outposts and historical sites so that we can learn about these important places that might otherwise go completely forgotten. A lot of these folks are elderly and retired and when they go what they know goes with them unless the we bother to find out about it. If nothing else I will take away from this book the desire to speak to the older generation to find out some of their stories. I am sure I will be surprised by what these living historians have seen and experienced.

[ronrose1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If any book cries out for an app, this book certainly does. The places visited in this book are ripe with history. They present a fascinating insight into the people and places in our country that are perhaps little known, yet full of meaning and importance. Who wouldn't want to see the place where John Wilkes Booth's brother, Edwin Booth, saved the life of Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln? Do you think the Spanish Flu of 1918 that killed millions worldwide started in Spain? No, it first surfaced in rural Kansas. Like to know where the first American funeral cremation occurred? Henry Laurens of South Carolina, one of this country's founding fathers, placed in his will the uncommon request to have his body burned until utterly consumed, after his death in 1792. Could D. B. Cooper have hijacked a second plane? A hijacking occurred over Utah about five months after D. B. Cooper's first hijacking. It had all the earmarks of Cooper's and the man fit Cooper's description. When he jumped from the plane the hijacker floated to earth with a parachute and a duffel bag with $500,000 dollars. This is a great book full of intriguing, little known facts centered in unheralded places across the United States. Book provided for review by Amazon Vine.

[tmtrvlr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Author Andrew Carroll was inspired to write this book after visiting the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s son was saved by the brother of Lincoln’s assassin. He sought out forgotten places filled with history. The book is broken up into short chapters, each with a different topic. It is a fairly quick read because you can read a little at a time and then go back to it later.I’m not sure why some were included as “forgotten history” as the stories and places are fairly well known. Some of the stories start out interesting, but then start to fizzle out. The stories sometimes tend to drift and I wish he had stayed on point! Quite a few of the stories, however, are fascinating. The ones I found most interesting: Mound City, about a disaster worse than the titanic; Hart Island, a huge potters field; and Robert Goddard’s Backyard, a real rocket scientist. I question the addition of a couple of the stories. One was a racial incident which made neither side look good. A page of jokes about Jehovah’s Witnesses was the way the author chose to start a chapter on the abuse and discrimination against the Jehovah Witnesses. Overall, the book is an interesting and unique collection of stories. Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review."

[mattries37315 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Andrew Carroll’s chronicling of his search for, and travels to, little known locations of historical importance that have been forgotten or ignored was an intriguing concept upon seeing the cover for “Here is Where”. Upon finishing the book, I can say that Carroll turned said concept into wonderful book that was a combination of investigative history and travel log that was hard to put down at the end of my lunch hour and work breaks.Carroll’s begins the book by giving the reasons he decided to go cross country, numerous times it turned out, and write about places and individuals forgotten by popular history. As Carroll learns on his travels, that just like that particular point in his life, it’s the circumstances surrounding the events in question that determined if they were remembered or not. And without rehashing the entire book, Carroll is able to find interesting links between these forgotten facets of history that connect them to one another and even his own life and family.Carroll is careful to write about the individuals and organizations that helped him to find the exact locations he was looking throughout his travels not only in the acknowledgements at the end of the book, but in the text itself. Carroll highlights the local historical society volunteers or local history hobbyists that are sometimes the only individuals in a town that know the interesting facts of where they live. And on rare occasions, Carroll is able to surprise even these individuals with what he’s discovered.Although even this paperback edition have mistakes that weren’t corrected from the hardcover print namely some incorrect dates, spelling, and grammar; they are forgive able because their very few and far between which made them noticeable. The biggest let down was the Carroll wrote about taken numerous photographs of the locations he visited, but none where in the book! Even though Carroll did write very good descriptions, a picture is worth a thousand words.“Here is Where”, is a wonderful read for anyone interested in history and takes out the big themes that academic historians seem to want to force fit things into. Andrew Carroll reveals that important historical moments are not always remembered, but are nonetheless still relevant in the 21st Century by giving better perspective on events that are well remembered. I can’t stress enough how much I recommend this book.I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.