Month: January 2020
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Be Free or Die by Cate Lineberry
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Be Free or Die: How is this not a movie yet?! Quick synopsis: A recounting of the life of Robert Smalls, Union hero during the Civil War. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Robert Smalls stole a Confederate ship and sailed it out to the waiting Union blockade right under the…
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John Adams (HBO)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for John Adams: Paul Giamatti playing a jerk. He’s the best at it! Quick synopsis: The events of John Adams’ life covered by the book of the same name by David McCullough. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: John Adams was the lawyer for the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre.…
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Catherine the Great (HBO)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Catherine the Great: Bold move by the screenwriters making Catherine the Great suck. Quick synopsis: Part of Catherine the Great’s life but not really. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: You can watch the first episode. All of it is exposition in a very distracting and terrible way. Fun Fact for…
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The Finest Hours by Michael Tougias
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Finest Hours: Two shipwrecks for the price of one! Quick synopsis: The story of two oil tankers in distress off Cape Cod in 1952 and the effort to save the crew by the Coast Guard. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Both distressed ships split in half! And kept floating…
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Musing: I Hate Thomas Jefferson
What’s this musing about: Thomas Jefferson was a moody and terrible hypocrite. I hate Thomas Jefferson. Oh, you want to know why? I’d be happy to let you know. And now, I will employ one of my favorite things: a numbered list. His supporters talk about how madly he loved his wife. There is evidence…
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A Great and Terrible King by Marc Morris
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Great and Terrible King: Braveheart was such a stupid movie. Quick synopsis: A complete biography of Edward I of England. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Other than the fact Edward I and William Wallace existed, Braveheart got everything else wrong. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Edward I effectively took…
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My Favorite History: The White Hurricane
From November 7th through November 10th, 1913, the Great Lakes were hammered by what was called the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, or much more ominously, the “White Hurricane.” I love history when I have absolutely no insight before I start digging in. I am huge lover of shipwreck stories and came across White Hurricane…
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Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Dark Tide: You’ll never think of a sugar rush the same way again. Quick synopsis: A recounting of the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. You heard me right. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In 1919, a giant vat of molasses in Boston burst, sending a flood of molasses through…
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Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Romantic Outlaws: Like mother, like daughter. Almost literally. Quick synopsis: A dual biography of Mary Wollstonecraft, a very famous feminist writer and her daughter Mary Shelley who wrote a little book called Frankenstein. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Basically, Frankenstein got written because Mary Shelley was on vacation and someone…