Dreamers and Deceivers: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America (Secret History)

Dreamers and Deceivers contains the stories of ten notable/notorious Americans. Each snapshot biography focuses on an individual’s life changing events and then gives the background to span the time from the last entry. There are inspirational stories of the inventor of Radar and FM radio, of the inventor of the modern computer, of Walt Disney, and of the geniuses of Pixar and Apple. There are stories of two very deceptive U.S. Presidents hiding debilitating illnesses, of the originator of the Ponzi scheme, the invention of the modern TV rerun, a story of a journalistic whitewash, and a hypocritical muckraker. The tone of the book is upbeat, non-political, and all the biographies are treated with respect. There is no political agenda and although some conversations are fictionalized, they are based on heavily footnoted statements and writings of the principles. The book is fun to read, the stories move quickly, the biographies give the right amount of information without becoming tedious. Especially with the last two biographies there is a recapture of the idea that Americans can do anything they set their minds to. I greatly enjoyed the book and recommend it for fun facts about famous Americans.