SKU: 95184317801

Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World

Sale price$18.36 Regular price$20.40
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $5.10 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Sep 9 - Sep 14

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the WorldThe historical record crowns success. Those enshrined in its annals are men and women whose ideas, accomplishments, or personalities have dominated, endured, and most important of all, found champions. John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists, and Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets are classic celebrations of the greatest, the brightest, the eternally constellated. Paul Collins' Banvard's Folly is a different kind

The historical record crowns success. Those enshrined in its annals are men and women whose ideas, accomplishments, or personalities have dominated, endured, and most important of all, found champions. John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists, and Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets are classic celebrations of the greatest, the brightest, the eternally constellated.

Paul Collins' Banvard's Folly is a different kind of book. Here are thirteen unforgettable portraits of forgotten people: men and women who might have claimed their share of renown but who, whether from ill timing, skullduggery, monomania, the tinge of madness, or plain bad luck-or perhaps some combination of them all-leapt straight from life into thankless obscurity. Among their number are scientists, artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and adventurers, from across the centuries and around the world. They hold in common the silenced aftermath of failure, the name that rings no bells.

Collins brings them back to glorious life. John Banvard was an artist whose colossal panoramic canvasses (one behemoth depiction of the entire eastern shore of the Mississippi River was simply known as "The Three Mile Painting") made him the richest and most famous artist of his day. . . before he decided to go head to head with P. T. Barnum. Ren Blondot was a distinguished French physicist whose celebrated discovery of a new form of radiation, called the N-Ray, went terribly awry. At the tender age of seventeen, William Henry Ireland signed "William Shakespeare" to a book and launched a short but meteoric career as a forger of undiscovered works by the Bard -- until he pushed his luck too far. John Symmes, a hero of the War of 1812, nearly succeeded in convincing Congress to fund an expedition to the North Pole, where he intended to prove his theory that the earth was hollow and ripe for exploitation; his quixotic quest counted Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe among its greatest admirers.

Collins' love for what he calls the "forgotten ephemera of genius" give his portraits of these figures and the other nine men and women in Banvard's Folly sympathetic depth and poignant relevance. Their effect is not to make us sneer or revel in schadenfreude; here are no cautionary tales. Rather, here are brief introductions-acts of excavation and reclamation-to people whom history may have forgotten, but whom now we cannot.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Published: 05/01/2002
ISBN: 9780312300333
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.70d
Award: Oregon Book Awards - Nominee
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 95184317801

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.9 ★★★★★
Based on 26 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
M
Verified Purchase
Mom of 5 17-9mo
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
Helpful gentle soap
Size: 3.3 Ounce (Pack of 1)
This soap is amazing for our sensitive skin. No more flare ups, even in winter. The smell is not strong and it lasts a solid month of every other day use. Its gentle enough that I’ve used it with two newborns.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2026
A
Verified Purchase
Amazon customer
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 5
Soothes flakey, itchy, red spots
Size: 3.3 Ounce (Pack of 1)
Calms itch and redness. Smells great. Makes nice lather. Rinses easily. Face feels fresh and clean. I would purchase again.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2026
O
Verified Purchase
Odessa Vanterpool
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 4
Works Great!
Size: 3.3 Ounce (Pack of 1)
I absolutely love the soap. It lathers really well so a little goes a long way. Will definitely last a while. The smell is amazing. My husband thinks that I smell like a bowl of oatmeal. Feels really amazing on the skin. I wish it hydrated a little more because I also pair it with the lotion and it works wonders. Definitely works for the price you pay. I love that there are no harmful ingredients that leave my skin burning like most soaps.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2026
D
Verified Purchase
Danny
Boise, US
★★★★★ 5
Great Product but EXPENSIVE
Size: 3.3 Ounce (Pack of 1)
This is a great product, but I definitely think it’s over priced. The bars don’t last long and neither do the moisturizers. I don’t understand why they only sell small containers and small bars. But it smells great, and works best when you shower with exfoliating cloth or loofah in lukewarm to cool water (hot water makes dry skin conditions worse. Try to leave skin a bit damp before adding the moisturizer, the results improve at that point.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2026
R
Verified Purchase
Reese C.
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 5
GREAT
Size: 3.3 Ounce (Pack of 1)
It smells amazing and keeps my son’s skin moisturized. Completely worth it! The size doesn’t bother me so I got 2! It’ll last awhile.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2026

recommand products