Thomas J. Craughwell

The Rise and Fall of the Second Largest Empire in History: How Genghis Khan's Mongols Almost Conquered the World

by Thomas J. Craughwell

Emerging out of the vast steppe grasslands of Central Asia in the early 1200s, the Mongols, under their ferocious leader, Genghis Khan, quickly carved out an empire that by the late thirteenth century covered...

Thomas Jefferson's Creme Brulee: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America

by Thomas J. Craughwell

This culinary biography recounts the 1784 deal that Thomas Jefferson struck with his slaves, James Hemings. The founding father was traveling to Paris and wanted to bring James along “for a particular purpose”—...

Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints

by Thomas J. Craughwell

From thieves and extortionists to mass murderers and warmongers, up-close and embarrassingly personal snapshots of those sanctified people with the most unsaintly pasts in the history of Christianity.

Saints...

Busted: Mugshots and Arrest Records of the Famous and Infamous

by Thomas J. Craughwell

A riveting lineup of the world's most famous and infamous arrests, from Lizzie Borden (double murder) to Lindsay Lohan (DUI) to Roman Polanski (unlawful sexual intercourse)

Although the headlines fade, the humiliation,...

This Saint Will Change Your Life

by Thomas J. Craughwell

Heaven Help Us!

Your days of worry and frustration are over. Whoever you are, whatever you do, there’s a patron saint who wants to help you—specifically you—with your troubles. This Saint Will Change Your...

Saints Preserved

by Thomas J. Craughwell

A finger, a lock of hair, a crucifix, a chalice—if such items belonged to a saint, they are considered to be relics and as such are venerated by the Catholic Church. Anyone who thinks that relics are remnants...