Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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King of Kings by Scott Anderson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for King of Kings: An amazing number of heads in the sand. Quick synopsis: The story of the Iranian Revolution. Fact for Non-History People: In Iran, “thumbs up” is the equivalent of the middle finger most other places. Fact for History Nerds: One of Ayatollah Khomeini’s first acts was to reverse advancements…
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The Boys in the Light by Nina Willner
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Boys in the Light: No finer company. Quick synopsis: The story of the intersection between some American soldiers in World War II and the author’s father, a concentration camp survivor. Fact for Non-History People: Germany had over 1,000 concentration camps. Fact for History Nerds: Approximately 1.65 million people were kept…
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A Flower Traveled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Flower Traveled in My Blood: Nobody wins. Quick synopsis: The story of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo and their search for their kidnapped grandchildren in Argentina. Fact for Non-History People: The most lucrative kidnapping in world history happened in Argentina and netted the kidnappers $60 million. Fact for History…
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The Aviator and the Showman by Laurie Gwen Shapiro
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Aviator and the Showman: Her Atlantic flight was the least interesting thing about her. Quick synopsis: The lives of Amelia Earhart and her husband George Putnam. Fact for Non-History People: Earhart was also a fashion designer. Well, kinda. Fact for History Nerds: Amelia set the woman’s world altitude record of…
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The Gunfighters by Bryan Burrough
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Gunfighters: Guns? Check. Fights? Check. No lies detected. Quick synopsis: A look at all the Texan and Texas-adjacent gunfighters of the Wild West. Fact for Non-History People: The time of the “Wild West” only covers about 30 years. Fact for History Nerds: The Pony Express only lasted about 18 months.…
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Midnight on the Potomac by Scott Ellsworth
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Midnight on the Potomac: An old story told new. Quick synopsis: A different look at the last year of the Civil War. Fact for Non-History People: Lincoln would even visit Confederate prisoner hospital tents during the war. Fact for History Nerds: One out of every 50 Americans were killed during the…
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When We Ruled by Paula Akpan
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for When We Ruled: You didn’t learn about these names in history class. Quick synopsis: A look at twelve African Queens and Warriors. Fact for Non-History People: Emperor Mansa Musa of Mali was one of the richest people ever. He might have been the richest. Fact for History Nerds: There are still…
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Second Life by Amanda Hess
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Second Life: As if parenting weren’t anxiety inducing already. Quick synopsis: A memoir of parenting in the digital age. Fact for Non-History People: In 1900, only 5% of childbirths took place in hospitals. Fact for History Nerds: By 2020, 98.3% of childbirths took place in hospitals. My Take on…
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The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück by Lynne Olson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück: Resistance doesn’t stop at the prison gate. Quick synopsis: The story of French Resistance women who banded together in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Fact for Non-History People: Ravensbrück was the only concentration camp designed specifically for women. Fact for History Nerds: About 130,000 women were sent to…