In the tradition of its successful forebears, Hal Hellman's Great Feuds in Science
(Forecasts, Feb. 26) and Great Feuds in Medicine,
this new collection showcases 10 feuds between some of the world's most enigmatic personalities, with an emphasis on the global issues often at stake and how, for better or worse, the feuds changed history. Evans (Casebook of Forensic Detection) captures all the drama and controversy in these streamlined accounts brimming with invigorated, well-paced prose. History and human nature collide as revenge is taken to the extreme between strangers and within families. Amundsen and Scott race to the South Pole. Patton and Montgomery, "two armor-plated egos," battle the Germans while vying with each other for the title of supreme Allied general in WWII. The Hatfields and the McCoys, the modern-day synonyms for feuding parties, meet in a succession of bloody showdowns, while Burr and Hamilton's legacy is determined by one fatal duel. Not surprisingly, royalty is well-represented, including the bitter verbal fireworks between Queen Elizabeth I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. Politicians are also major players with larger-than-life personalities like Stalin, Trotsky and Lyndon Baines Johnson. Even though the outcomes of the notorious feuds Evans explores are common knowledge, he skillfully maintains suspense by teasing readers with some of the little-known facts and mysteries that surround them. What stands out in each fascinating case is how hate clouds common sense, how losers sometimes win and winners often lose and, as Evans observes, "history isn't always written by the winners." Agent, Ed Knappman. (May 18)
