The Hunt for History: On the Trail of the World's Lost Treasures--From the Letters of Lincoln, Churchill, and Einstein to the Secret Recordi

Nathan Raab, America's preeminent rare documents dealer, describes his years as the Sherlock Holmes of historical artifacts--questing after precious finds and determining their authenticity--and he shows us what the past can tell us about the present.

A box uncovered in a Maine attic with twenty letters written by Alexander Hamilton; a handheld address to Congress by President George Washington; a long-lost Gold Medal that belonged to an American President; a note that Winston Churchill wrote to his captor when he was a young POW in South Africa; paperwork signed and filled out by Amelia Earhart when she became the first woman to fly the Atlantic; an American flag carried to the moon and back by Neil Armstrong; an unpublished letter written by Albert Einstein, discussing his theory of relativity.

Each day, people from all over the world contact Nathan Raab for help understanding what they have, what it might be worth, and how to sell it. The Raab Collection's president, Nathan is a modern-day treasure hunter and one of the world's most prominent dealers of historical artifacts. Most weeks, he travels the country, scours auctions, or fields phone calls and emails from people who think they may have found something of note in a grandparent's attic.

In The Hunt for History, Raab shares some fascinating stories about his professional exploits: spotting a letter from British officials that secured the Rosetta Stone; discovering a piece of the first electric cable laid by Edison; restoring a fragmented letter from Andrew Jackson that led to the infamous Trail of Tears; and locating copies of missing audio that had been recorded on Air Force One as the plane brought JFK's body back to Washington. Whether it's the first report of Napoleon's death or an unpublished letter penned by Albert Einstein to a curious soldier, every document and artifact Raab uncovers comes with a spellbinding story--and often offers new insights into a life we thought we knew.

Author: Nathan Raab, Luke Barr
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Published: 03/10/2020
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781501198908


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2019
Publishers Weekly 01/06/2020
Library Journal 01/31/2020 pg. 1
Booklist 02/15/2020 pg. 13
Shelf Awareness 04/03/2020

About the Author
Nathan Raab is one of the world's most knowledgeable and respected experts in historical documents. His writing has appeared in The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and he frequently writes a column, "Historically Speaking," for Forbes.com. The author of The Hunt for History, he lives with his family in Pennsylvania.

Luke Barr is the author of Ritz & Escoffier and the New York Times bestseller Provence, 1970. The former features editor at Travel + Leisure, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their two daughters.


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