Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Alien Earths by Lisa Kaltenegger
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Alien Earths: Just in case we need another one. Quick synopsis: A look at the possibilities (and probabilities) of another planet just like ours. Fact for Non-History People: The nearest star to us besides the Sun is Proxima Centauri which is 25 trillion miles away. It takes light 4 years to…
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The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: My favorite is the lighthouse. Which one is yours? Quick synopsis: A look at the seven wonders of the ancient world. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Great Pyramid of Giza is both the oldest Wonder and the only one which still exists.…
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On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for On Desperate Ground: Fine, fine. Marines are good at stuff. I’ll admit it for once. Quick synopsis: The battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Mao Zedong believed orgasms directly halted the aging process. He’s dead now so I guess not. Fun Fact for…
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In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for In the Kingdom of Ice: Nobody wants to be king of this kingdom. Quick synopsis: An account of the U.S Arctic Expedition of 1879-1881. It…. didn’t go great. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: As late as this expedition, people still believed there was an open polar sea. Yes, in the…
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The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Wide Wide Sea: Retire before the job kills you. Quick synopsis: The final voyage of legendary explorer Captain James Cook. Fact for Non-History People: Cook’s second circumnavigation of the globe took 1,100 days and about 100,000 nautical miles. Fact for History Nerds: Cook never had a sailor die of scurvy…
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Cracking the Nazi Code by Jason Bell
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Cracking the Nazi Code: Hitler was not the beginning. Quick synopsis: A look at the career of Winthrop Bell who spied on the Nazis before World War II. Fact for Non-History People: By the end of World War II, the Nazis were responsible for 20 million deaths without counting combat related…
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Chasing Beauty by Natalie Dykstra
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Chasing Beauty: An old school influencer. Quick synopsis: A biography of Isabella Stewart Gardner who created a popular museum in her own name. Fact for Non-History People: In the 1800s, Washington D.C. was a popular honeymoon destination. Fact for History Nerds: Isabella’s museum was the site of the infamous 1990 heist…
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Four Shots in the Night by Henry Hemming
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Four Shots in the Night: If you were lucky, you only got stitches. Quick synopsis: The story of a murder in Northern Ireland. Fact for Non-History People: 3,720 people were killed, while 47,571 were injured, and about 10,000 people were imprisoned during the Troubles. Fact for History Nerds: Almost 50%…
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Death Row Welcomes You by Steven Hale
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Death Row Welcomes You: See what you think. Quick synopsis: A look at the death penalty in Tennessee since 2018 and the people affected. Fact for Non-History People: There were 489 executions in the U.S. from 2001 to 2011 (485 men and 4 women). Fact for History Nerds: There are…