Month: July 2020
-
The Innocence Files (Netflix)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Innocence Files: Don’t worry about leaving teeth marks at a murder. You’re all good. Quick synopsis: A look at various cases of exonerations by the Innocence Foundation. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Teeth mark impressions are extremely unreliable. You can basically only eliminate someone and not identify someone. Bite…
-
The Forgotten Storm by Wallace Akin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Forgotten Storm: I’m never living in Tornado Alley. Quick synopsis: The story of the Tri-State Tornado of 1925. It is the deadliest tornado in US history. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The author of this book was in the tornado. In fact, he was in his house. Which the…
-
Washington (History Channel)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Washington: Eh, it’s fine. Quick synopsis: The life of George Washington, mostly focused on his British and American military careers and the presidency. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: George Washington’s teeth were not made of wood. They were made of ivory and other people’s teeth (slaves mostly). Fun Fact for…
-
Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Midnight Rising: John Brown was a nutjob. A well meaning nutjob, but a nutjob. Quick synopsis: The story of John Brown’s Raid on the Harper’s Ferry Arsenal before the Civil War. It went poorly. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: John Wilkes Booth was at John Brown’s execution. Fun Fact for…
-
Grant (History Channel)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grant: I’m a big fan too, but this borders on hero worship. Quick synopsis: The life of Ulysses S. Grant, mostly focused on his Civil War exploits. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Grant was actually gifted a slave by his in-laws. When he was nearly broke (which was constantly), he…
-
The Ghost Ships of Archangel by William Geroux
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghost Ships of Archangel: Stalin was kind of a jerk? You don’t say. Quick synopsis: The story of PQ-17, a World War II supplies convoy headed for Russia. The convoy needed to pass across German occupied seas, and it goes…. badly. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Technological limitations lead…
-
My Favorite History: Saint Thomas More
Imagine being one of the great philosophers of your age. You serve a king, die a martyr’s death, and are revered by the Catholic Church. However, your greatest contribution to the world is a book you wrote on a lark. And the title is used today to mean the exact opposite of the point you…
-
Madame Fourcade’s Secret War by Lynne Olson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Madame Fourcade’s Secret War: Spying sounds exhausting. Quick synopsis: The story of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the spy master of a massive network in France throughout World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Spying in France during World War II was very often a family affair. Olson notes multiple instances where…
-
History Nerd United’s First Birthday!
Happy 4th of July, nerds! Also, it’s been one year since I launched the site. It would be a massive understatement to say it’s been an interesting 365 days. I’ve been able to meet and talk with awesome people. I’ve also been able to bore tons of people with pleas to visit the damn thing.…