DREAMERS AND DECEIVERS: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America By Glenn Beck

Publisher:  Threshold Editions
Release Date:  October 28, 2014
Pages:  320
Genre:  American History
Reviewed By WC

Book Description:  The new nonfiction from #1 bestselling author and popular radio and television host Glenn Beck.

THEIR NAMES ARE FAMILIAR.
THEIR STORIES ARE NOT.

Everyone has heard of a “Ponzi scheme,” but do you know what Charles Ponzi actually did to make his name synonymous with fraud? Credit for inventing radio usually goes to Marconi or David Sarnoff and RCA—but if you’ve never heard of Edwin Armstrong or Lee de Forest, you know only half the story.

You’ve probably been to a Disney theme park, but did you know that the park Walt believed would change the world was actually EPCOT? He died before his vision for it could ever be realized. History is about so much more than dates and dead guys; it’s the greatest story ever told. Now, in this powerful follow-up to his national bestseller Miracles and Massacres, Glenn Beck brings ten more true and untold stories to life.

The people who made America were not always what they seemed. There were entrepreneurs and visionaries whose selflessness propelled us forward, but there were also charlatans and fraudsters whose selfishness nearly derailed us. Dreamers and Deceivers brings both of these groups to life with stories written to put you right in the middle of the action. You know that Woodrow Wilson was a progressive who dramatically changed America, but did you know that he was also involved in one of the most shocking national deceptions of all time? You know I Love Lucy, but the true story of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball is much better than anything they produced for television. You’ve heard of Upton Sinclair, the socialist author who gained famed with The Jungle, but it was a book he wrote two decades later that proved the depths he was willing to go to maintain his reputation.

From the spy Alger Hiss, to the visionary Steve Jobs, to the code-breaker Alan Turing—once you know the full stories behind the half-truths you’ve been force fed…once you meet the unsung heroes and obscured villains edited from our schoolbooks…once you begin to see these amazing people from our past as people rather than just names—your perspective on today’s important issues may forever change. Find out why this series has become America’s new go-to history book.
WC's Review:  Excellent, just excellent. Anyone who has a remote familiarity with this country's evolution has got to read Beck's fabulous truths about folks who had brilliant ideas for the advancement of society and those who wanted to control and manipulate the masses.

Desi and Lucy, Alan Turing the code breaker, the visionary Steve Jobs and computers, and the inimitable Walt Disney fit the first category. Everyone knows that Desi truly loved Lucy, but suffered from the insatiable lust that dominates the lives of creative geniuses. And now for the rest of that story...

Of far less character, if one can believe it, were terrorists Sacco and Vanzetti, the nefarious Charles Ponzi, communist ideologues Woodrow Wilson and FDR, of Richard Nixon and the despicable Alger HIss. Most folks don't remember who these anti-American heroes were. An understanding of the motives of these ne'er do wells is paramount to comprehending the utopian leanings of the present administration, under which our adolescent media continues to wallow in orgasmic frenzy.

Tom Brokaw should know better but doesn't. How can a man who writes about the greatest generation still breathe hatred for Nixon? Simple. Tricky Dick convincingly exposed the communist Trotskyism of the media savior Hiss. 

What to make of Upton Sinclair? Does anybody read "The Jungle" anymore? Whatever happened to his blockbuster, "Boston?"

Beck gets it, as he always does.

About the Author:  Glenn Edward Lee Beck is one of America's leading radio and television personalities. His quick wit, candid opinions and engaging personality have made The Glenn Beck Program the third highest rated radio program in America and Glenn Beck, one of the most successful new shows on the Fox News Channel. His unique blend of modern-day storytelling and insightful views on current events allowed him to achieve the extraordinary feat of having #1 New York Times bestsellers in both fiction and non-fiction. Beck also stars in a live stage show and is the publisher of Fusion magazine. 

Online, he is the editor of GlennBeck.com and the publisher of TheBlaze.com.

Beck is the author of six consecutive #1 New York Times Bestsellers including his latest book, the thriller The Overton Window. When The Christmas Sweater, his first novel, debuted at #1 on the fiction list, Beck became one of a handful of authors to write books that reached #1 on both the fiction and non-fiction NYT lists.