Latest Reviews & Media Appearances

Owen talked with WGN Radio's Rick Kogan about the Chicago Fire, Eliot Ness, and Watergate. (Listen.)

“History’s famous heroes and heroines have been chronicled ad nauseam for their famous deeds, but a new book “After the Fact” sets a new focus on the less-known part of their lives: the denouements.”

—New York Post

“Owen Hurd is fascinated by postscripts in books and movies—those little notes that tell us what happens after “the End.” Who goes to prison? Who gets rich? Who dies penniless and insane? . . .”

— TimeOut Chicago Interview

“History buffs and fans of popular culture will likely enjoy reading After the Fact, which frequently casts the spotlight on lesser known historical figures and events.”

— Pop Culture Guy

“A good idea will take you a long way in the publishing business, and Owen J. Hurd has got one here: compiling a list of epilogues to some of the best-known stories in American history. Pocahontas going to London after her marriage to John Rolfe. Paul Revere flubbing an amphibious campaign in Maine during the American Revolution. A drunken Eliot Ness guilty of a hit-and-run in his post-Untouchables career. . . .”

— Jim Cullen: Review in the History News Network

Advance Praise for After the Fact

“Don't read this book alone. Make sure there's someone seated next to you at all times, because you're going to want to stop every three or minutes and say, 'No way! Did you know...?' This book is filled with surprises--and also with meticulous research, crisp writing, and biting humor. After the Fact reminds us that history can and should be fun. It's so good you'll have to share it. . . . The writing and presentation are so good that some readers might overlook the phenomenal research and eye for detail that went into it.”

— Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Get Capone,
Opening Day, and Luckiest Man

“Christopher Columbus in chains? Pocahontas in London? Who knew? Owen J. Hurd brings history to life in this wonderfully readable book that will engage everybody who cares about this country’s history. You’ll laugh when you read that Jackie Robinson took a job at Chock Full o’ Nuts; you’ll cry when you find out what happened to freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, and you’ll never look at history the same again.”

                                                   — Richard Cahan, author of Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows and The Lost Panoramas