Boston Curiosities: A History of Beantown Barons, Molasses Mayhem, Polemic Patriots and the Fluff in Between

By Ted Clarke

Boston has been a favorite backdrop for novels, films and television series, but some of the best stories about the city are true ones. Historian Ted Clarke explores these stories both the familiar and the obscure that have earned Boston such epithets as 'the epicenter of American crime fiction', 'the cradle of liberty' and 'the ice cream capital of the world'. The fifteen-foot tidal wave of molasses that roared down Commercial Street in 1919 is one of the more famous legends. Lesser known, but equally stunning, is the case of Albert Tirrell, who in 1845 murdered his mistress in a Boston boardinghouse but was released after presenting the first successful sleepwalking defense in the United States. From the mysterious story of John Jacob Loud, who patented the first ballpoint pen, to the dubious early enterprises of merchant prince turned philanthropist Thomas Perkins, Boston Curiosities offers up a medley of memorable events that give Beantown its celebrated flavor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Oct 20, 2008
• ISBN: 9781625843913

Ted Clarke

Ted Clarke is a historian who lives along the coast in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and serves as chair of the town's historical commission. He is the author of twenty-one books, most of them on the history of Boston and the surrounding area. He has also written and narrated five television programs on history, one of which won a statewide award. He holds three master's degrees and was a teacher for forty-five years.

Reviews for Boston Curiosities

[macart3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My first impression of the book from just looking over the front and back covers was "Hmm, I know I've seen this type of book before but I don't know where." Then a couple a days later I thought: "Elementary school. Scholastic school editions." You know, the ones where the teacher gave you an order form to choose books every so often and when they arrived, they were cursory synopses of historic famous peoples' lives (George Washington, Ben Franklin, etc) made for kids. This is what this book strongly reminds me of. Except there's some hanky-pank concerning the boudoir, although nothing explicit. The chapters are fast and succinct. The structure is mostly narrative. I think that if the book were to have more dialogue than it wouldn't be so bare bones and more interesting, flesh it out a bit. Also, I think arranging stories by subject matter can be a bit monotonous and would have preferred to have arranged chronologically, but I'm not going to hold that against the author. However, I do love how the author selects really odd stories to include in the book, such as the molasses spill and the human skin book cover. But again, I am disappointed that Clarke failed to include citations from where he gathered the information (and I'm quite sure that all of this info is *not* common knowledge) despite claims on the title verso page of the info contained with in the book being true to the best of HP's and author's knowledge. Clarke also did not provide a bibliography for those who are interested in pursing more about a topic. (I certainly would like to know more about the human skin cover book) I consider this more of an expanded guide book for those who going/want/are interested in going to Boston. Over all, I'll have to give this book a low rating because of failure to cite information (from an objective pov) and would have liked a bibliography for possible further research . Also, I wish it included some dialogue just to give it life instead of facts. (From a subjective pov)

[jfslone · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Boston Curiosities is a history nerd's heaven. If you're interested in little facts and interesting stories that normally fly under the radar of conventional history, this book is definitely for you. There are interesting stories concerning the many people, places, and things associated with Boston. Some of the best involve the story of the Fluffernutter (which, I will admit, was a favorite of mine as a kid), and the age old question, "Why do donuts have holes in them?"I do have to admit, though, that even as an historian myself, there were times when I felt the undeniable urge to skip through some of the stories. Clarke does say in his introduction that you should feel free to read the book straight through, or to bounce around as you like. I think the latter option is the best, just because you can get a little wary of the random quality of some of the stories. All of the information is interesting, but it might not be interesting to the same people. There's something for everyone, though, ranging from biography, to true crime, and food. I have to say, the food stories were some of my favorites!