It Happened in Wisconsin

by Michael Bie

Occasionally quirky, sometimes rollicking, always affectionate, these 30 compelling stories range from the area's “discovery” by a French explorer who was hopelessly lost to the legendary shooting of a Green Bay Packer coach’s dog. Read about how Wisconsin virtually seceded from the Union during Prohibition, became purgatory for rock stars, and ended the turbulent 1960s with a tragic bombing. It Happened in Wisconsin does justice to a state rich in fascinating history and colorful characters.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

165 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jennifer Barstad]

This book was filled with some interesting facts about Wisconsin that I did not know. Some of them were pretty neat while others are cringeworthy. But hey, that's why it's part of the past, so we can learn from it.

[Kent Archie]

Many interesting stories about Wisconsin. I grew up there and attended college there and while I was exiled to Illinois, I still consider myself a cheesehead.
A number of these were new to me.
Highly recommended.

[Lee Adams]

Wisconsin is a weird and unique place. This book was surprisingly entertaining and informative.

[David Szatkowski]

THis is a fun book of Wisconsin history tidbits. The "big"events are important and should be celebrated. But the small, local, people and events are important too.

[Bethany]

My husband and I picked this up in a Wisconsin book shop for the one reason that it was written by a local author. I never expected it to be as entertaining as it turned out to be, but for a series of bite-sized historical narratives, I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was. Mainly, I would attribute this to the author's gift for writing, although the content was interesting and surprisingly relevant. All in all, this was well worth the time and money to read, and I would gladly read other books by Michael Bie.

[Jillian]

Wisconsin has such a rich and varied history. Everyone from Wisconsin should understand the role the state has played throughout history and appreciate it's great heritage! We could all learn a lesson from Wisconsinites such as Sherman Booth, Fighting Bob, and even John Muir.

[Andrea]

The stories were good, and the flavor of this book was much more casual than some others I am reading. Cute book for an afternoon.

[Moses]

Interesting, informative, and well-written. The section of the famous Packers-Cubs game was incredibly tense and excellent. All in all, four stars.

[Sherri]

Quirky, funny, entertaining. Really like this author's writing of 30 uniques things that "Happened in Wisconsin". Writen in short story format and gives the history of the event, reports, and lore.

[Josephine]

A lot of fun. who knew the details of events that happened here. Each chapter is on a different
event so it's easy to do over a period of time.

[LibraryKath]

I found this book more interesting than I actually found Wisconsin. I think when I go back I need to stay with more interesting people!

[Flow]

I enjoy bits of history like this, especially from my favorite state, but for some reason I wasn't as excited about the book when I finished it as I was to start reading it.