Category: Books/Museum Reviews
-
Kuleana by Sara Goo
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Kuleana: Even paradise has taxes. Quick synopsis: The story of a woman dealing with family, legacy, heritage, and paradise (almost) lost. Fact for Non-History People: Hawai’i is the only state completely within a tropical climate. Fact for History Nerds: Hawai’i is the most isolated population center on Earth, located over 2,000…
-
The Science of Second Chances by Jennifer Doleac
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Science of Second Chances: Better living through data. Quick synopsis: A look at some possible solutions to recidivism in the U.S. criminal justice system. Fact for Non-History People: In the U.S., approximately 70% of released prisoners are rearrested within 5 years. Fact for History Nerds: Within three years, nearly 50%…
-
Heartland by Keith O’Brien
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Heartland: The legend before the legend. Quick synopsis: The story of Larry Bird’s path to a magical year at Indiana State University. Fact for Non-History People: Bird was set to play for the legendary Bobby Knight but quit before ever playing a game. Fact for History Nerds: Bird is the first…
-
The Rembrandt Heist by Anthony Amore
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Rembrandt Heist: When in a jam, make a bigger jam. Quick synopsis: The life and crimes of art thief Myles Connor. Fact for Non-History People: The largest art heist on record is the 1990 heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston with 13 works valued at $500 million…
-
End of Days by Chris Jennings
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for End of Days: Plenty of judgement to go around. Quick synopsis: The story of the Ruby Ridge tragedy and how it all happened. Fact for Non-History People: In 2021, 15% of Americans believed the government had fallen under the control of a Satan-worshiping cabal of pedophiles. Probably a higher number now.…
-
American Reich by Eric Lichtblau
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for American Reich: Feel like this is going to cause an argument. Quick synopsis: A look at a hate crime in Orange County, CA and the rise of hate crimes overall in the U.S. Fact for Non-History People: Hate crimes have doubled since 2015, reaching over 11,800 incidents in 2023. Fact for…
-
The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Blood Countess: #FreeBáthory Quick synopsis: The true story of history’s most prolific female serial killer, Elizabeth Báthory. (Ahem, ALLEGEDLY.) Fact for Non-History People: 15% of U.S. serial killers are women. Fact for History Nerds: The most prolific female serial killer by confirmed victims is Jane Toppan with 31. My Take…
-
Heiresses by Miranda Kaufmann
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Heiresses: You don’t even need to be there to be a terrible person. Quick synopsis: A look at the women who inherited Caribbean slaves. Fact for Non-History People: British enslavers were compensated over 20 million pounds when slavery was abolished. Fact for History Nerds: The debt I just mentioned wasn’t paid…
-
Five Bullets by Elliot Williams
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Five Bullets: How many is too many? Quick synopsis: The story of the Bernie Goetz case in 1980s New York City. Fact for Non-History People: The NYC murder count per year went from 1,392 in 1985 to 2,262 in 1990. To be clear, 1,392 was already a lot. Fact for History…