Our Blog

On the heels of Secret Lives of Great Authors, Great Artists, and Great Composers comes Secret Lives of Great Filmmakers-an uncensored look at screen legends ranging from D. W. Griffi th and Frank Capra to Martin Scorsese and the Coen Brothers. Readers will discover that:

    * Charlie Chaplin’s corpse was stolen and held for a 400,000£ ransom.

    * Akira Kurosawa dreamed of making the ultimate Godzilla film.

    * Alfred Hitchcock “lost” his belly button during abdominal surgery-and often shocked his leading ladies by flashing his curiously smooth tummy.

    * David Lynch won’t allow cooking in his home; the odor of heated food disturbs him.

With outrageous anecdotes ranging from the weird to the bizarre, Secret Lives of Great Filmmakers is a hilarious behind-the-scenes look at the making of movies.

ROBERT SCHNAKENBERG is the author of Secret Lives of Great Authors (Quirk, 2008) and Secret Lives of the Supreme Court (Quirk, 2009). He lives in Brooklyn.

The author of Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents and Secret Lives of the First Ladies is back with another bizarre look at history’s most celebrated personalities. With Secret Lives of the Civil War, Cormac O’Brien unearths a host of strange, little-known facts about Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Harriet Tubman. He also introduces lesser-known individuals who changed the fate of our country-people like:

–Sarah Edmonds, who disguised herself as a man so she could fight in the Battle of Bull Run (the Civil War had a surprising number of women soldiers)
–William Clarke Quantrill, a sociopath who fought in both armies, mostly for the pleasure of shedding blood
–And, of course, Officer Ambrose Burnside, whose unique “sideburns” would later influence generations of Elvis Presley fans

Complete with 30 dazzling portraits and illustrated maps, Secret Lives of the Civil War is a new look at one of the most fascinating chapters in American history.

CORMAC O’BRIEN is the author of Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents (Quirk, 2004) and Secret Lives of the First Ladies (Quirk, 2005). He lives in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

Quirk Books is excited to announce the discovery of a never-before-published adventure from the pen of Dr. John Watson, steadfast companion of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. As the tale opens, we discover that Holmes has vanished–and Watson has been framed for a grisly murder! Writing from a damp cell in Coldbath Fields penitentiary, the falsely convicted prisoner recounts the events leading to his arrest . . . and provides twelve removable, facsimile clues that point to the true culprit. Among them are:

–An article torn from a newspaper in California
–A puzzling manuscript ripped into several pieces
–A catalog of Victorian medicines and marital aids
–Plus a telegram, an arrest report, an empty matchbook, and much more

It’s up to you to sift through the clues and solve the thrilling whodunit. When you think you’ve identified the culprit, slice open the final signature of the book (sealed at the printer) to read the remainder of the story. With beautiful Victorian-style illustrations, The Crimes of Dr. Watson will appeal to mystery lovers of all ages.

JOHN H. WATSON, M.D., authored dozens of adventures about the great detective Sherlock Holmes (most were published under the name of his literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI’S crime novels include The Wheelman, The Blonde, and Severance Package (all from St. Martin’s Press). He lives in Philadelphia."

This newly updated collection of biographies showcases all the secrets, scandals, and trivia from America’s first ladies.
 
Whether she’s a leading lady, loyal spouse, or lightning rod for scandal, the First Lady of the United States has always been in the spotlight—and in 2017 that was truer than ever. This revised and expanded edition from Quirk’s best-selling Secret Lives series features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the women of the White House, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump, it comes complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. Did you know that . . .
 
• Dolley Madison loved to chew tobacco
• Mary Todd Lincoln conducted séances on a regular basis
• Eleanor Roosevelt and Ellen Wilson both carried guns
• Jacqueline Kennedy spent $121,000 on her wardrobe in a single year
• Betty Ford liked to chat on CB radios—her handle was “First Mama”
And much, much more.

It’s the perfect time for Secret Lives of the Supreme Court-an irreverent look at the lives, personalities, and history of this exclusive club, with profiles of everyone from John Jay and William Howard Taft to Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and John Roberts. Readers will learn about their most important cases and their most bizarre personality quirks: Thurgood Marshall was a soap opera junkie, Benjamin Cordozo died a virgin, Hugo Black was a Klansman, Sandra Day O’Connor started a Jazzercise class for fellow lawyers, and much more. Complete with 35 irreverent portraits, Secret Lives of the Supreme Court will be a hit with U.S. history buffs and anyone seeking a fuller understanding of current events.

Robert Schnakenberg is the author of Secret Lives of Great Authors. He lives in Brooklyn.

Includes all-new chapter for the 45th POTUS.

This updated and redesigned edition of Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of our commanders in chief—complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You’ll discover that:

• Teddy Roosevelt was blinded in a White House boxing match
• John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac River
• Gerald Ford once worked as a Cosmopolitan magazine cover model
• Warren G. Harding gambled with White House china when he ran low on cash
• Jimmy Carter reported a UFO sighting in Georgia

With chapters on everyone from George Washington to President #45, whoever he (or she!) may be, Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents tackles all the tough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: Which president claimed that God struck down Abraham Lincoln on purpose? How many of these folks were cheating on their spouses? And are there really secret tunnels underneath the White House? American history was never this much fun in school!