One of the most illustrious figures in Georgia history has been lost to time—until now.

This is the first-ever biography of a man the Atlanta Constitution once proclaimed as  “one of the most puzzling and fascinating figures in modern Georgia history.”

BRILLIANT ODDBALL offers an intimate and detailed portrait of Colonel Telamon Cruger Smith Cuyler who made worldwide headlines, befriended royalty, and shaped Southern history while living a life of extraordinary contradictions. His entrepreneurial reach extended into real estate, industrial development, journalism, and agriculture, but behind the polished Southern gentility, turmoil and scandals lurked.

In many ways, this is not only a biography of a brilliant and strange man, but also a love story or several love stories. It’s about family, resilience, and the thin line between triumph and tragedy. From the Gay 90s through World War II, Cuyler’s story is as much about Georgia and America as it is about him

Drawing on Cuyler’s sealed diaries and extensive research, award-winning journalist and author Ken H. Fortenberry reveals the rise and fall of a man whose life embodied both the grandeur and shadows of the South.