Clocks, Constitution, and Contradictions

Connecticut loves to market itself as reasonable, refined, and reliably well behaved. The truth is far more fun. Clocks, Constitution, and Contradictions dives into the offbeat, dramatic, and frequently ridiculous history hiding under the Nutmeg State’s polished veneer. The Puritans preached virtue while secretly feuding with everyone. Towns rebelled against governors they did not like. Colonists wrote the first American constitution because they were tired of waiting for permission. Wealthy industrialists built fortunes on inventions that ranged from brilliant to bizarre. Political scandals erupted with impressive regularity. Reformers and radicals fought over everything from education to electricity. And through it all, Connecticut walked a wobbly line between order and uproar.

With humor, irreverence, and just enough accuracy to keep the historians calm, this book takes listeners from the colony’s earliest contradictions to its modern quirks. It is a celebration of a state that has spent four hundred years trying to look put together while constantly tripping over its own ambitions. Whether you are a proud Nutmegger or simply a fan of chaotic American history, this is Connecticut as you have never seen it: messy, fascinating, and impossible not to love.