A governor who saw ghosts, an incorrigible horse thief, a husband and wife who each stood over seven feet tall, an American Indian chief who defied forced removal, and the first woman to practice law before the Supreme Court: these are just some of the remarkable characters whose lives influenced and defined the state of Wisconsin. Authors Michael Edmonds and Samantha Snyder plumbed the depths of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s collections to research and compose lively portraits of eighty of these notable individuals: mayors, ministers, mystics, murderers, and everything in between. Each story is followed by recommended sources for readers’ continued exploration. Whether read on the fly or all in one sitting, these short, colorful narratives will intrigue and inform as you delve into Wisconsin’s diverse and diverting history.

Between 2006 and 2015, Michael Edmonds wrote more than 500 "Odd Wisconsin" sketches for a syndicated weekly newspaper column. He is the author of two award-winning books from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, Out of the Northwoods: The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan and Risking Everything: A Freedom Summer Reader, and has written several articles for the Wisconsin Magazine of History and other journals.

Samantha Snyder is a two-time graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, most recently completing her Masters in Library and Information Studies from the UW School of Library and Information Studies in May 2015. She currently lives in Washington, DC and works as a reference librarian at the US Patent and Trademark Office. This is her first book.