The Who The What and the When

The secret sidekicks of history

From Al Capone’s mentor to Elvis Presley’s mother to Edgar Allen Poe’s foster father, The Who, the What, and the When: 65 Artists Illustrate the Secret Sidekicks of History features people you’ve probably never heard or thought of, but who had a direct hand in helping shape the word as we know it. Yes, it is gorgeously designed by the same team who helped put together Grace Bonney’s Design*Sponge at Home, and the stories like this one about Emily Dickenson’s male Newfoundland who lived 16 boisterous years and was probably larger than she was are a delight to read. But what I probably love most about it is the feel of the binding and paper. It reminds me of the books I used to check out of the library in elementary school, the ones I’d devour while curled up next to four hundred stuffed animals on my bed.

This is a fantastic gift idea for anyone curious about historical figures and the tiny mysteries that made them who they were.