Month: May 2019

  • Musing: My Favorite Authors Right Now

    Musing: My Favorite Authors Right Now

    Writing for history nerds like myself is a complicated game. While a fiction writer can pour his or her brain out and have a book done in 6 months (not hating, just saying), a history writer needs to have the story and then start their research. Then there is the tightrope of cutting out the…

  • The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

    The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The River of Doubt: I don’t recommend exploring uncharted tributaries of the Amazon. Quick synopsis: The story of when Teddy Roosevelt decided to take a vacation and explore a tributary of the Amazon. Didn’t go well. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Did you see the synopsis above? I am a…

  • Saints & Strangers (TV Miniseries)

    Saints & Strangers (TV Miniseries)

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Saints & Strangers: You mean they used real American Indians to play American Indians? Get out of town. Quick synopsis: The story of the Mayflower passage through the first Thanksgiving and the establishment of the Plymouth colony. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: You know Squanto, but you don’t know Hobbomock.…

  • The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer/Josh Mensch

    The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer/Josh Mensch

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The First Conspiracy: George Washington, assassins, and overwrought prose. Quick synopsis: The story of the assassination conspiracy of George Washington right before the Battle of Long Island. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: New Yorkers in 1770 consumed an average of 6.7 gallons of rum year per person. That is the…

  • They Shall Not Grow Old

    They Shall Not Grow Old

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for They Shall Not Grow Old: Peter Jackson made a masterpiece. I’m not talking about Lord of the Rings, though. Quick synopsis: A documentary on World War I that uses new technology to blow your freaking mind hole. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When it goes from black and white to…

  • Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

    Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Midnight in Chernobyl: In Soviet Russia, things go boom! Quick synopsis: An in-depth look at the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Russia in 1986. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Marie Curie and her husband discovered polonium and radium. Her notes on them are so radioactive they are still…

  • Random Musing: Book vs. eBook

    Random Musing: Book vs. eBook

    What’s this musing about: Why I like physical books better than ebooks. Sometimes I think I like making my life more difficult for no reason. This has always been true, especially when considering technology. Case in point: it took me years to buy my first iPod. No big deal if you are not a music…

  • The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

    The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Five: Life is hard for a woman. Then Jack the Ripper kills you. Quick synopsis: The life stories of the women killed by Jack the Ripper. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The number of women killed by Jack the Ripper is not completely known. The five women in this…