Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Fear Is Just a Word by Azam Ahmed
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Fear Is Just a Word: Don’t mess with Miriam Rodriguez. Quick synopsis: The story Miriam Rodriguez as she sets out to avenge the kidnapping and murder of her daughter. Fact for Non-History People: In 2011, Mexico registered nearly 28,000 murders. Fact for History Nerds: 95% of all homicides in Mexico are…
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Narcotopia by Patrick Winn
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Narcotopia: Apparently, you can’t trust a spy agency. Quick synopsis: The story of the narco-state in Burma. Fact for Non-History People: This narco-state has a larger military than Sweden or Kenya. Fact for History Nerds: The Southeast Asia drug trade generates $60 billion each year in meth alone. My Take on…
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The Counterfeit Countess by Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Counterfeit Countess: Best. Fraud. Ever. Quick synopsis: The story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg who became a fake countess and saved thousands of people in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Mehlberg negotiated the release of at least 9,707 people and that does not include the people saved by…
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Paradise Falls by Keith O’Brien
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Paradise Falls: An entirely different kind of sightseeing. Quick synopsis: The story of the environmental disaster at Love Canal, NY. Fact for Non-History People: The chemical company at the center of this story sold contaminated land to board of education for $1… so the board could build a school on top…
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The Showman by Simon Shuster
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Showman: From improv to war. Quick synopsis: The story of how Volodymyr Zelensky became president of Ukraine and what has happened since the invasion by Russia. Fact for Non-History People: At the time of the invasion, Russia had at least four times the number of troops, five times as many…
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Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons by Charlotte Gray
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: Mommy knows best. Quick synopsis: A dual biography of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt. Fact for Non-History People: Around the 1850s, 700 British families owned four fifths of the land in Britain. Fact for History Nerds: Between 1870 and 1914, 454 titled Europeans married American…
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Tripping on Utopia by Benjamin Breen
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Tripping on Utopia: I’ll stick to beer, thanks. Quick synopsis: The people and science at the beginning of widespread drug experimentation. Fact for Non-History People: The CIA did experiments with LSD for mind control purposes. Fact for History Nerds: LSD was first synthesized by Swiss scientists in the 1930s. My Take…
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American Girls by Jessica Roy
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for American Girls: I’m just thankful I have brothers after reading this one. Quick synopsis: The story of an American girl who joins ISIS and the sister who tries to bring her home. Fact for Non-History People: When the girls’ mother thought their house was haunted, church leaders identified the source of…
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The Sister by Sung-Yoon Lee
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Sister: Hell hath no fury like a dictator’s sister. Quick synopsis: A look at the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong. Fact for Non-History People: The official name of North Korea is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It is neither a democracy nor a…