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Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Pirate’s Wife:

She’d rather have been a pirate.

Quick synopsis:

The story of Sarah Kidd, the wife of famous pirate Captain Kidd.

Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:

William Kidd was Sarah’s third husband, but she was still only in her early 20s when they got married.

Fun Fact for History Nerds:

Sarah was also arrested along with William but would not be executed like him.

My Take on The Pirate’s Wife:

There are lots of problems with pirates. However, the biggest problem for an author is that they tend to leave no records and anything they do leave behind is probably a lie.

Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos’s The Pirate’s Wife runs into this issue and more. It is a biography of William Kidd’s wife Sarah. Kidd is famous for being a doomed pirate who may have been railroaded but also probably had it coming. Kidd is Sarah’s third husband, and she definitely seems like an interesting person to write a book about.

However, Sarah left little to no actual correspondence in her life. Much of the story needs to come from secondary sources or the author is forced to take her best guess. Geanacopoulos does her best with what she has but it’s just too little to work with. I can see that Geanacopoulos is a good writer in how she adeptly tries to tell a complete story, but this subject just leaves way too many holes to write a full-length non-fiction book.

(This book was provided to me as an advance copy by Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.)

Verdict:

If this is a subject you are interested in, it’s worth a read. Buy it here!

If You Liked This Try:

• Mike Dash, Batavia’s Graveyard
• Steven Johnson, Enemy of All Mankind
• David Cordingly, Under the Black Flag
• Colin Woodard, The Republic of Pirates
• Keith Thomson, Born to Be Hanged

Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Red Planet:

I won’t be volunteering for a Mars visit.

Quick synopsis:

A biography of Mars.

Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:

You would weigh a third of what you do on Mars as compared to here on Earth. Man, that would be nice.

Fun Fact for History Nerds:

Jupiter accounts for 70% of the planetary mass of the solar system. That’s big.

My Take on The Red Planet:

Simon Morden has convinced me that I do not want to colonize Mars. Someone else can take my ticket, thank you.

The Red Planet is a biography of sorts for Mars. It traces its beginning from the literal creation of everything to the present day. We find out why it looks the way it does, what it was like at various stages of development, and what we might need to anticipate as we continue to explore Mars.

I was skeptical about how much I would enjoy this book. I am much more of a narrative history buff, but Morden converted me. He keeps the flow light, puts the reader in some specific scientific situations on a theoretical Mars mission, and never takes himself seriously. If you don’t like science at all, maybe this book isn’t for you. But if you have even the smallest curiosity about other worlds then this book is a great introduction to the science of Mars.

Final disclaimer: yes, there were times I had no idea what Morden was talking about. But hey, there was very little math so yay!

(This book was provided to me as an advance read copy by Netgalley and Elliott & Thompson books.)

Verdict:

Science in readable form! Buy it here!

If You Liked This Try:

• Eric Jay Dolin, A Furious Sky
• John Ross, The Promise of the Grand Canyon
• Riley Black, The Last Days of the Dinosaurs