How They Choked

Failures, Flops, and Flaws of the Awfully Famous

By: Georgia Bragg, Kevin O'Malley - Illustrator

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

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' 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. Listeners 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")

©2014 Georgia Bragg (P)2014 Recorded Books

Fascinating take on historical fails

Written with humor and historical accuracy. Loved the writing, narration and the stories. Write more!

Great History and funny

The author needs to write more of these books. It is an approach to history which really holds your attention. I love the book.

Depressing

This is about bad people, so it's depressing to listen to. I thought it would be about mistakes famous people made, so it would be entertaining and worth learning from, but it's about the horrible things people have done, like the Spanish Inquisition.