Overrated/Underrated

Rating:
Summary: Food for Thought
Review: From time to time, American Heritage magazine asks a group of authors to name the person or thing that is most overrated and most underrated in each author's field of expertise. "Overrated/Underrated" assembles three years worth of answers to those questions, and the result is a quick and enjoyable read.

Almost everyone has heard of the famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart, but far fewer know of Harriet Quimby, a flamboyant beauty who was the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. When someone asks "who is the most famous sex symbol of the twentieth century?", Marilyn Monroe is a safe bet for the answer--but what about Donna Reed, named by one author as the most underrated sex symbol of her time? And what about Robert E. Lee--was he the great strategist that history makes him out to be, or was he really "the original Teflon general"?

Overrated/Underrated pillories many icons and offers substitutes to replace them--as a result, it's bound to irritate readers, but that's half the fun. And since each article is fairly short, the book can easily be interrupted and put aside (thus making it ideal for airplane travel).

Rating:
Summary: Food for Thought
Review: From time to time, American Heritage magazine asks a group of authors to name the person or thing that is most overrated and most underrated in each author's field of expertise. "Overrated/Underrated" assembles three years worth of answers to those questions, and the result is a quick and enjoyable read.

Almost everyone has heard of the famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart, but far fewer know of Harriet Quimby, a flamboyant beauty who was the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. When someone asks "who is the most famous sex symbol of the twentieth century?", Marilyn Monroe is a safe bet for the answer--but what about Donna Reed, named by one author as the most underrated sex symbol of her time? And what about Robert E. Lee--was he the great strategist that history makes him out to be, or was he really "the original Teflon general"?

Overrated/Underrated pillories many icons and offers substitutes to replace them--as a result, it's bound to irritate readers, but that's half the fun. And since each article is fairly short, the book can easily be interrupted and put aside (thus making it ideal for airplane travel).