Yesterday, I volunteered at one of our branches for three hours, working their book exchange during a bazaar. Although I took a book with me, it was a book someone turned in for the exchange that hooked me. Destiny by Paul Aurandt may not ring a bell, but the subtitle will be recognizable by others my age. It’s called Destiny: From Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story.

Do you remember those odd little radio pieces that always had a twist at the end? There are 103 short pieces in this book, with the longest piece four pages, making this a perfect book for browsing. However, I was hooked, and read the entire book in the afternoon. The pieces are entertaining and informative, covering everything from a Jesse James anecdote to a number of romances. Some of the courtships ended well, as in the story of Harry and Bess Truman. In others, tragedy overtook a marriage – fire in the case of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his wife. There are stories of inventions, invalids, runaways, and monarchs. But, each story has that well known twist, “Now you know THE REST OF THE STORY.”

After thirty years, the style seems a little dated, but the material itself is not. It’s still as fascinating as the original radio pieces were. Little known anecdotes about Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale, Joe DiMaggio, and Daniel Boone are still appealing to those of us who enjoy history, and the people behind historical events.

I’m afraid Destiny will probably not even be easy to find in public libraries because of its age. But, just as I couldn’t resist reading the collection, I couldn’t resist sharing this intriguing book.

Destiny and 102 Other Real-Life Mysteries by Paul Aurandt. William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1983. ISBN 068022057 (hardcover), 264p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I picked the book up at a book exchange.