If you want the Battle of Gettysburg or an overview of the Great Depression, look elsewhere, but if you are interested in American history in all its colorful strangeness, read on! This anecdotal compendium introduces such figures as Oofty Goofty, "Radioactive Boy Scout" David Hahn, circus performer Lobster Boy, baseball wild man Lenny Dykstra, and the seemingly un-killable "Iron" Mike Malloy. Here too are such events as the superpower summit between Elvis and Nixon, the 1922 Straw Hat Riot, and the utterly puzzling Kentucky Meat Shower of 1876.