Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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The Stolen Crown by Tracy Borman
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Stolen Crown: Wily Lizzie and slippery Jimmy. Quick synopsis: The story of the Elizabethan Succession and how it didn’t go the way we thought it did. Fact for Non-History People: In 1500, the English monarchy’s annual income was about 19 times that of Scotland. Fact for History Nerds: 60% of…
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Running Deep by Tom Clavin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Running Deep: One too many dives. Quick synopsis: The story of the deadliest submarine in World War II, the USS Tang. Fact for Non-History People: When World War II began, Japan had at least 15 more subs than the U.S. with 64 ready for deployment. Fact for History Nerds: One out…
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To Rescue the American Spirit by Bret Baier
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for To Rescue the American Spirit: He certainly rescued himself from boredom. Quick synopsis: The life and times of Teddy Roosevelt. Fact for Non-History People: The teddy bear is actually a reference to Teddy Roosevelt. Fact for History Nerds: He was once shot in the chest and refused to go to the…
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Vagabond by Tim Curry
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Vagabond: He’ll always be Nigel St. Nigel to me. Quick synopsis: The life of Tim Curry in his own words. Fact for Non-History People: Curry grew up a military BRAT (which stands for British Regiment Attached Traveler, apparently). Fact for History Nerds: Curry actually knew Clue director Jonathan Lynn from his…
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Bone Valley by Gilbert King
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Bone Valley: When proving your innocence is the easy part. Quick synopsis: The story of Leo Schofield’s fight for exoneration in the murder of his wife. Fact for Non-History People: Since 1973, at least 200 death row inmates have been exonerated. Fact for History Nerds: On average, for every 8 people…
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1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for 1929: Everything is great! Then depression. Quick synopsis: The story of the beginning of the Great Depression. Fact for Non-History People: One of Calvin Coolidge’s sons died of sepsis from a blister he got playing tennis at the White House. Fact for History Nerds: A poll done after the 1932 election…
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The Zorg by Siddharth Kara
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Zorg: A historical horror story. Quick synopsis: The story of the slave ship which ignited the abolition movement. Fact for Non-History People: Netting was attached to slave ships to keep Africans from trying to drown themselves. Fact for History Nerds: Liverpool, England was responsible for 82% of all slaves trafficked…
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Useless Etymology by Jess Zafarris
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Useless Etymology: Useless, but fun! Quick synopsis: The wild and wonderful history of English words. Fact for Non-History People: “Hello” didn’t become a standard greeting until 1876. Fact for History Nerds: “Factoid” used to mean “fake news” basically. Now it means fun fact. Life is weird. My Take on Useless Etymology:…
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Race Against Terror by Jake Tapper
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Race Against Terror: Got the criminal — not sure about the court. Quick synopsis: The trial of Al-Qaeda terrorist, Spin Ghul, years after his murder of American soldiers in Afghanistan. Fact for Non-History People: At its height right before September 11th, 2001, Al-Qaeda had about 3,000 core members, but because of…