Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren

    Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Behold the Monster: A lot of Little. Quick synopsis: The story of Jillian Lauren’s meetings with serial killer Samuel Little. Fact for Non-History People: Samuel Little is most likely the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. Fact for History Nerds: Both Little Richard and Malcolm X are in Little’s family…

  • The Underworld by Susan Casey

    The Underworld by Susan Casey

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Underworld: Nope. Not going down there. No way. Quick synopsis: A look at the deepest depths of the ocean. Fact for Non-History People: The top layer of the ocean that we can see is called the epipelagic (sunlight) zone. It only makes up 5% of the ocean’s volume. Fact for…

  • Becoming the Ex-Wife by Marsha Gordon

    Becoming the Ex-Wife by Marsha Gordon

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Becoming the Ex-Wife: Best thing that ever happened to her. Quick synopsis: The story of author Ursula Parrott who popularized the term “ex-wife.” Fact for Non-History People: A 1930s study found that 94% of women believed divorce should be the solution for an unhappy marriage but only 54% approved if there…

  • Ira Hayes by Tom Holm

    Ira Hayes by Tom Holm

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ira Hayes: An example of someone who never wanted the limelight. Quick synopsis: The story of Ira Hayes, one of the marines to raise the American Flag at Iwo Jima. Fact for Non-History People: We didn’t have the right names of the men who raised the flag until 2019. Fact for…

  • The Tao of the Backup Catcher by Tim Brown with Erik Kratz

    The Tao of the Backup Catcher by Tim Brown with Erik Kratz

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Tao of the Backup Catcher: It better be a good Tao because this job is rough. Quick synopsis: The story of Erik Kratz and the life of a career backup catcher in Major League Baseball. Fact for Non-History People: 60% of players who get one day as a major leaguer…

  • Chasing Shadows by Greg Skomal and Ret Talbot

    Chasing Shadows by Greg Skomal and Ret Talbot

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Chasing Shadows: The book has sharks. What more do you need? Quick synopsis: The story of sharks and shark expert Greg Skomal. Fact for Non-History People: Great White Sharks and their ancestors have survived every mass extinction event for more than 450 million years. Fact for History Nerds: Humpback whales are…

  • Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Peter Moore

    Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Peter Moore

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Not everyone loved Benjamin Franklin. Quick synopsis: The story of how the phrase, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” came to be in American culture. Fact for Non-History People: 12 of the original colonies voted yes on the Declaration of Independence on July…

  • No Ordinary Assignment by Jane Ferguson

    No Ordinary Assignment by Jane Ferguson

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for No Ordinary Assignment: Safety? Sounds boring. Quick synopsis: The story of war journalist, Jane Ferguson. Fact for Non-History People: Sana’a, Yemen, is believed to be the one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Fact for History Nerds: The Somali language wasn’t formally written down until the 1970s. My…

  • Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers

    Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hands of Time: Watch this! (I’ll see myself out.) Quick synopsis: The story of the watch by a horologist. Fact for Non-History People: That weird little pocket inside the pocket of your jeans? It was put there to hold a pocket watch. Fact for History Nerds: As of 2020, the most…