The Morganville Vampires Volume 4

Abrilliantandpersonalliteraryjourney,inwhichPhilipDoddtellsthecurioustalesofpeoplewhosenames—deliberatelyorbychance—becamehouseholdwordsWhat'sinaname?ForPhilipDodd,thisquestionledtoaninternationaltour,sleuthingthehistoryofsomeofourmostintriguingeponyms.Theresultisacollectionofsurprising,stranger-than-fictionstoriesfromhistory,thearts,thehallsofscience,andsometimessimplytherealmofserendipity.Thisarmchairtraveler'sdelightcontainslittle-knowntalesofsuchimmortalfiguresas:·RoyJacuzzi,aliveandwellandstillbubblingwithideasinHappyValley,California·JosephP.Frisbie,thebakerwhosepietinsinspiredWham-O'subiquitousflyingdisc·ErnstGr?fenberg,forwhomtheG-spotwasnamed?SamuelMaverick,theTexaspioneerwhorefusedtobrandhiscalves·AndmanyothercolorfulfiguresFromBelgiumtoBuenosAires,fromOrlandotoLosAngeles,Dodd'sreadersgoalongfortheride.What'sInaName?isamarveloustributetopeoplewhochangedourlanguage—whetherthroughhardwork,creativity,ortheluckofthedraw.