Ever heard of Edward Everett who was keynote speaker at Gettysburg in 1863? Of course not, because President Lincoln followed Everett with the most memorable two-minute speech ever ? the Gettysburg Address. Or Lord Halifax, who in 1940 was front-runner to become Prime Minister of England, but went to the dentist, missing a key meeting, while the job went instead to Winston Churchill. How about Jug McSpaden, who came second a record 13 times in one season ? the year Byron Nelson won an astonishing 18 PGA events the same year. And who couldn't forget Elisha Gray who might have been Ma Gray had he filed a caveat for the telephone two hours earlier. Or Harriet Quimby, the first woman to fly the English Channel solo — a feat completely lost in the news to the sinking of the Titanic. If life is all about the winners, the top dogs, and the walk-off homeruns — you'd never know it from Dale Patterson's newest and greatest collection. Because Close, But No Cigar is a rollicking fun-filled romp through the dustbin of history where the real stars come from the flip-side of fortune and fame. Come celebrate the runner-ups, nearly-weres, and also-rans from the forgotten corners of science, sports, entertainment, politics and more. | Close But No Cigar by Dale Patterson, Paperback | Indigo Chapters