The Name's Familiar - Paperback

by Laura Lee (Author)

The real-life people and events lurking behind words and phrases we use everyday.

Back Jacket

"A humorous, well-written, and engaging exploration of the origins of common words and names. Laura Lee brings these famous, and sometimes infamous, personalities to life in a style that is both charming and compelling. . . . I couldn't put it down!"
--Debbi Fields, founder, Mrs. Fields Cookies

Did you know that:

- Jules Leotard, "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze," favored a tight-fitting outfit that would carry his name to even greater heights?

- Barbie Handler, daughter of one of the founders of the Mattel Toy Company, inspired the creation that would become the world's best-selling doll?

- Hector Boiardi, an Italian immigrant and cook, created delicious foods for home consumption that to this day bear his slightly altered name, along with his picture?

Author Laura Lee certainly knows. Here she introduces us to real men and women whose names have been preserved in popular culture. Her investigation into well-known eponyms (words derived from names) has produced this compilation of anecdotes and biographies about intriguing but often lesser-known historical figures.

The author is a writer for the Albany Times Union.