Grumpy Grandma's Book Corner, Part Whatever

It's not a new book but it's out in an updated edition: Scorpion Tongues New and Updated Edition: Gossip, Celebrity, and American Politics. I think we are all aware of JFK's reputation, and of course Bill Clinton, but some of the other scandals are just...what? Grover Cleveland? Really? And it appears that James Buchanan really was our first gay president. (I found that Salon piece in about 7 seconds with The Google.) I like American history and read quite a bit of it, and somehow I'd never known that about Buchanan. I did know that Martha Washington named her tomcat "Hamilton," but boy howdy, I didn't know ALL the reasons why! He was a busy boy, for sure. The big takeaway from this book is that there is nothing new under the gossip sun. (I will not make any observations about which political party was all about the lies and rumor-mongering from way back, but that was enlightening too. Not that the other party's hands were entirely clean, but in terms of sheer volume of flinging poo at opponents, one side is way out in front.) These stories humanize these historical figures, and are sometimes sad, but often laugh out loud funny. I could sympathize with the light social drinkers whose reputations were smeared with stories that they were secret drunks, and laugh at how Ulysses S. Grant could always appear sober while actually drunk off his ass. If we taught a little bit more about these stories in high school and definitely in college, we'd probably generate a lot more interest in American History. Very fun book. Grumpy Grandma gives it five stars.