Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Lost at Sea by John Wukovits
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lost at Sea: Yeah, this title is pretty spot on. Quick synopsis: The story of war hero Eddie Rickenbacker and his crew’s crash and fight for survival in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Eddie Rickenbacker got addicted to speed when he first drove in…
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Meat Grinder by Prit Buttar
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Meat Grinder: Nazis and Soviets trying to one up each other in the game of “needless slaughter.” Quick synopsis: A look at the battles for the Rzhev Salient right outside Stalingrad in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Russians trained dogs to be suicide bombers. I am not okay with…
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Ambush at Central Park by Mark Bulik
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ambush at Central Park: Snitches get….shot in a totally different country. Quick synopsis: The story of the only IRA sanctioned assassination on U.S. soil. Fun Fact for Non-History People: In Cork, Ireland, a favorite activity was called “road bowling” and it involved cannonballs and public streets. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…
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Knowing What We Know by Simon Winchester
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Knowing What We Know: What I know is that I don’t know much. Quick synopsis: A look at knowledge and how our understanding and interaction with the world has changed through history. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Language was born in 4 different places all over the world around 3400 B.C.…
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Into the Amazon by Larry Rohter
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Into the Amazon: This dude did not like sleeping in his own bed. Quick synopsis: The biography of Cândido Rondon who was a Brazilian explorer and about 20 other things. Fact for Non-History People: Rondon took Teddy Roosevelt on an expedition through the Amazon where all of them almost died. Fact…
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The 1998 Yankees by Jack Curry
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The 1998 Yankees: They are the greatest. Period, done. Quick synopsis: The story of the greatest baseball team of all time, the 1998 Yankees. Fact for Non-History People: The Yankees outscored their opponents by 309 runs. If you aren’t a baseball fan, trust me, that’s insane. It was the highest since…
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Life Sentence by Mark Bowden
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Life Sentence: “The Wire” is more realistic than we want to admit. Quick synopsis: The life and crimes of Montana “Tana” Barronette in Baltimore. Fact for Non-History People: In 2015 Sandtown, Baltimore, there were 64 murders and only 18 people ended up being charged. Yes, that’s a very bad rate. Fact…
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The Wager by David Grann
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Wager: Maybe the mutineers had a point. Quick synopsis: The story of the shipwreck and mutiny on the HMS Wager. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: If you were the captain of an English ship and it sank, you were automatically given a court martial. Well, assuming you survived. Fun…
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The Dirty Tricks Department by John Lisle
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Dirty Tricks Department: “Dirty” is entirely subjective. Quick synopsis: The story of the precursor to the CIA and the insane weapons they developed during World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: There used to be a Brooklyn Dodgers football team. It has nothing to do with the overall…