Book Uncovers State’s ‘Warriors, Saints, and Scoundrels’
This collection of brief biographies illustrates the lives of unique, quirky, and inspiring individuals who influenced our history.
Warriors, Saints, and Scoundrels: Brief Portraits of Real People Who Shaped Wisconsin
Meet the mayors, ministers, mystics, murderers, and more whose lives influenced and defined the state of Wisconsin in the Wisconsin Historical Society Press’s newest release, Warriors, Saints, and Scoundrels: Brief Portraits of Real People Who Shaped Wisconsin (ISBN 978-0-87020-792-1, Paperback: $22.95). This collection of brief biographies illustrates the lives of unique, quirky, and inspiring individuals who influenced our history, from a doctor who believed that there were cavemen on Mars to the first woman to practice law in front of the Supreme Court.
Co-authors Michael Edmonds and Samantha Snyder plumbed the depths of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s collections to research and compose lively portraits of eighty notable individuals. Among them are a governor who saw ghosts, an incorrigible horse thief, a husband and wife who each stood over seven feet tall, an American Indian chief who defied forced removal, and the cheesemonger who created the “Dairy State.” The book includes narratives on more recognizable historical figures — such as Ho-Chunk Chief Mau-nah-pay-ho-nik, Benjamin Butts, Wisconsin’s first Governor Nelson Dewey, and women’s rights activist Mathilde Anneke — as well as not-so-recognizable Wisconsinites like Abraham Lincoln-sculptor Vinnie Ream Hoxie and windmill climber Willard Standish.
Each story is followed by recommended sources for readers’ continued exploration. With stories ranging from the obscure to the beloved, there’s a forgotten, yet essential, character for everyone who loves history and a good story!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Between 2006 and 2015, Michael Edmonds wrote more than 500 “Odd Wisconsin” sketches for a syndicated weekly newspaper column. He is the author of two award-winning books from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, Out of the Northwoods: The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan and Risking Everything: A Freedom Summer Reader, and has written several articles for the Wisconsin Magazine of History and other journals.
Samantha Snyder is a two-time graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, most recently completing her Masters in Library and Information Studies from the UW School of Library and Information Studies in May 2015. She currently lives in Washington, DC and works as a reference librarian at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, Va. This is her first book.
BOOK LAUNCH CELEBRATION
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, Wis.
The Wisconsin Historical Society Press has been publishing the best of Wisconsin history and culture as part of the Wisconsin Historical Society since 1855
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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