The Good, the Bad, and the Mad is a collection of 37 brief stories about notable people in American History. Well, “notable” according to the author, at least.
This book opens with an introduction by the author, E. Randall Floyd, who discusses his fascination with “weirdos” in American History, and how he came to write this collection.
This book provides a very, very short glimpse into the lives of each of these people. There are mini biographies written about each one. It’s almost as if the purpose of The Good, the Bad, and the Mad is to simply spark an interest in one or more of these people so you can read more about them online or in other books.
The most interesting people featured in this book are P.T. Barnum (co-founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus), Lizzie Borden, Ambrose Bierce (author of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, which is amazing), and Sarah Winchester.
Most of the other people discussed in this book weren’t too interesting. Overall, I would consider The Good, the Bad, and the Mad an “airplane read.” It’s not too deep, but just enjoyable enough to walk away with a bit more knowledge than you had before.
E. Randall Floyd writes a bunch of books like this one. Some of his other titles include:
- True Evil: Monsters, Murderers & Maniacs (2017)
- Into Thin Air: People and Places That Vanished Without A Trace (2018)
- The Dark Side of History: 5000 Years of Bizarre Beliefs, Mysteries & Wondrous Events From Around the World (2018)
What did you think about this book?
Last Updated on January 27, 2026 by Sarah Ann
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