The Great Book of Ohio: The Crazy History of Ohio with Amazing Random Facts & Trivia (A Trivia Nerds Guide to the History of the United States)

Author Bill O’Neill has authored many books on Trivia and stands as somewhat of an expert in this field! His topics include movies, football, baseball, wars, rock music, simply random trivia facts and now States. This volume is American trivia (a subset that grows broader my the hour these days!). To set the mood of this sixth volume (NEW YORK, TEXAS, CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, and ALASKA were the first) on OHIO, Bill states, ‘How much do you know about the state of Ohio? Sure, you know it is home to Cleveland and the Ohio River. But, do you know how the state got its name? Do you know why its nickname is the “Buckeye State”? Do you know which famous U.S. President was visiting the state when he found out he was elected? Do you know why Ohio was sued over its state motto? Do you even know what its state motto is? Have you heard what makes the Buckeye State’s flag unique? Do you know which famous fast food chain got its start in the state? Do you know which childhood candy or which household cleaning tool was invented by Ohio natives? If you have ever wondered about the answers to any of these questions, then you’ve come to the right place. This book is filled with stories and facts about the state of Ohio. This isn’t just any book about Ohio. It will highlight some of the facts that have helped shape the state’s history and introduce you to facts you’ve never heard. Once you finish reading, you’ll know everything there is to know about the state of Ohio. Ohio is a state that’s rich in history. We’ll bounce around some as we take a closer look at some of the state’s most interesting historical facts. We’ll also explore the state’s pop culture, sports, attractions, and so much more! This book is broken up into easy to follow chapters that will help you learn more about the Buckeye State. Each chapter is followed by trivia questions and answers so you can test your knowledge on what you’ve just learned. Some of the facts you’ll read about are shocking. Some of them will give you goosebumps. But there’s one thing all of these facts have in common: they’re all interesting! Once you have finished this book, you’re guaranteed to walk away with a wealth of knowledge about the Buckeye State. This book will answer the following questions: Why is Ohio called the “Buckeye State”? Why is Ohio known as the “Mother of Presidents”? Which superhero originated from the state? Which famous children’s book author got his start in Ohio? Which Ohio musicians went to high school together? What fast food chains started out in the Buckeye State? What urban legends haunt the state? Which national sports league was formed in Ohio? What Halls of Fame are located in the state? And so much more!’This book is broken up into easy to follow chapters that will help you learn more about this less famous state. The book is divided into fascinating sections – Ohio’s history and random facts, Ohio’s Pop culture, Ohio’s inventions, ideas and more, Ohio’s attractions and sports, Facts about Ohio's attractions (Roller Coaster capital of the world, one of the largest state fairs, etc) Ohio’s unsolved mysteries, urban legends and other weird facts, and Ohio’s sports facts.Not only is the book entertaining – it is also very instructive for every reader. Have fun, learn, and be ready for the next gathering of very smart friends! You’ll be on top. Grady Harp, December 18

NOTE: The author informed me that the book was temporarily available for free on Amazon and asked me to write a review.We seem to have a neverending fascination with trivia, bits and pieces of facts that have no real significance but nonetheless strike us as funny, strange, or sometimes downright bizarre. Bill O’Neill has gathered a lot of this information together and dispensed it to Amazon customers in what are now several dozen collections, the latest of which is “The Great Book of Ohio,” which, as you might guess consists of information about people, places, and events in and from Ohio. As with some of O’Neill’s other books, the information provided is mainly interesting, but the presentation sometimes leaves a good bit to be desired.Unlike some of his previous collections that were merely lists of random facts, O’Neill divides the material in “The Great Book of Ohio” into various chapters devoted to history, pop culture, business and science, state attractions, crimes and mysteries, and sports. Further, O’Neill generally tries to organize his material by topics, with anywhere from a couple of paragraphs to a couple of pages devoted to each subject. So, rather than merely tell people what the name of the well-known restaurant chain Arby’s, which originated in Ohio, stands for (hint: it’s not roast beef), he goes into more depth about the history of the restaurant and the timeline of its various signature products. At the end of each chapter, he adds a numbered list of other facts that fit into the category subject, such as mentioning various common devices that were invented or first used in Ohio.That approach is both a strength and a weakness of “The Great Book of Ohio.” When O’Neill is talking about an interesting topic, like Arby’s or his description of some rather gruesome crimes that occurred in the state, his material can be fascinating. At other times, there is no wonderment whatsoever, unless you happen to be a resident of a particular city and want something to brag about. After all, Ohio is a fairly populous state, so it stands to reason that numerous famous people will have been born there over the years. Filling this book up with a mere listing of some of them doesn’t generate any excitement. At one point, O’Neill even lists, as an interesting fact, the size and population of Ohio, something I doubt anyone is going to find of much interest. In another place, his entire mention of a particular state park is to say that the park is “a popular place for people who enjoy camping, hiking, biking, fishing, and other outdoor activities,” a description that only applies to about 10,000 or so parks in this country.Further, there are a few blatant errors that I spotted quickly, such as saying that the birth name of Roy Rogers, who came from Ohio, was “Leonard Syle,” and that his nickname was “King of Cowboys.” Actually, Rogers was born Leonard Slye, and his nickname was “King of THE Cowboys.” I certainly didn’t try to fact check O’Neill’s work, but the fact that I found a couple of blunders like that doesn’t bode well for the accuracy of the rest of the book. And I don’t think it’s too much to expect an author of a book of trivia to make an effort to verify his facts before going to press. In addition to its factual blunders, “The Great Book of Ohio” is sloppily written. There are numerous grammatical mistakes in the book, and it has some awkward passages as well. The author also often repeats himself by starting several consecutive entries with “Did you know that … started in Ohio?” That style of writing gets tiresome.While I don’t know how accurate “The Great Book of Ohio” is, I also that anyone who relies solely on a trivia book as a reference source deserves what they get. So, taking the book for what it is, I find it an improvement on some of O’Neill’s books that simply spout out hundreds of random facts. Organizing his facts and turning them into short articles makes for more interesting reading. I wish that, instead of trying to cram everything and everybody who had anything to do with Ohio into the book, with a sentence or two on some of them, O’Neill had gone into more depth on some of his interesting topics. But, while there is definitely room for improvement, O’Neill has enough genuinely interesting information in the book for me to recommend it. “The Great Book of Ohio,” a more accurate title might be “The Pretty Decent Book of Ohio.”

The book came exactly as described online.

Author, Bill O’Neill is back again with a book of trivia for another GREAT STATE of the United States. While President Trump uses the phrase “Make America Great Again, this author through his use of trivia shows his readers why Ohio is already great.As stated in his description for this book, the number of historical tidbits is so huge that even many native-born citizens don’t have any knowledge of. The Great Book of Ohio covers such topics as historical factoids and oral traditions of Ohio, various young people’s pop culture, historical sports data, etc.There’s a wide range of descriptions which covers the kind of trivia contained with the pages of this book: from amazing to weird to oddly frightening making each item rather captivating.Once again for a state trivia book, Mr. O’Neill for each of the six chapters in the book. The author moves on to provide some additional random facts regarding the chapter’s topics, culminating with the testing of his readers on what they’ve just read in each chapter.For giving his readers, not only those living in Ohio, but anyone who’s an aficionado of trivia of this nature, a quite informative reading experience, I’ve given Mr. O’Neill 5 STARS for his efforts here.

great little book for Ohio peeps! gifted it to my dad & he loves Ohio history but learned a few new things!

More of a kids book then an information source

If you are from or living in Ohio or have relatives and/or friends there, this book is for you. In fact, you may get a kick out of it even without a personal anchor there because it is both informative and fun. Bill O'Neill's facts and trivia books always contain surprises and this one is no exception. Enjoy.

Going to Ohio so I bought this book, it's a fascinating read and useful facts I didn't know about.

Ik heb dit boek gekocht als kerstcadeautje voor mijn dochter die in Ohio gaat studeren. Er staan echt leuke anekdotes in en bovendien een grappige quiz om je kennis te testen.