Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus by H.H. Leonards
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus: She didn’t just disappear after the bus incident. Quick synopsis: The story of Rosa Parks and her relationship with museum owner, H.H. Leonards. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Rosa Parks was a supporter of the Black Panthers. Fun Fact for History Nerds: H.H. Leonards started…
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Flash Point by Christy Warren
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Flash Point: Fire ended up being the least of her worries. Quick synopsis: The story of paramedic and firefighter Christy Warren and her battle with PTSD. Fact for Non-History People: 5% of all career firefighters are women. Fact for History Nerds: If an ambulance has an EMT and a paramedic on…
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A Madman’s Will by Gregory May
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Madman’s Will: He screwed up the best thing he ever did. Quick synopsis: The story of the 383 manumitted slaves of John Randolph. Fact for Non-History People: After 1806, Virginia required freed slaves to leave the area within one year because God forbid they start spreading that whole “freedom” idea…
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Leyte Gulf by Mark Stille
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Leyte Gulf: The final navy smackdown. Quick synopsis: A look at the battle of Leyte Gulf which effectively ended Japanese naval power in World War II. Fun Fact for Non-History People: This is the largest naval battle in history. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The Japanese navy was so short on…
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A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Mystery of Mysteries: Poe was funnier than you think. Also, a bit of a jerk. Quick synopsis: A look at the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Poe married his cousin when he was 26 and she was 13. Yeah, try and forget that…
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Girls and Their Monsters by Audrey Clare Farley
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Girls and Their Monsters: They got four kids when they deserved none. Quick synopsis: The story of the Genain quadruplets and their horrible lives growing up. Fact for Non-History People: Numbers are fuzzy, but the Genain quadruplets birth (and survival) is about a one in 20 million chance. Fact for History…
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Burn It Down by Maureen Ryan
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Burn It Down: Mo already lit the match. Quick synopsis: A look at the dysfunction of Hollywood and how to fix it. Fact for Non-History People: Female movie stars earnings increase until age 34 and then drop like a rock. Male movie stars peak around 51 and then stay steady after…
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The Angel Makers by Patti McCracken
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Angel Makers: Don’t trust Auntie. Quick synopsis: A true crime story about a poisoning ring in 1920s Hungary. Fun Fact for Non-History People: An old test for finding out if someone was poisoned was combining copper, acid, and a sliver of organ tissue from the victim. If it turned black…
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First Family by Cassandra Good
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for First Family: Riding on Georgie’s coattails. Quick synopsis: A look at the children (and their children) who were raised by George and Martha Washington. Fun Fact for Non-History People: In 1789, there were only 4,200 houses in New York City. In 1790, Philadelphia had 7,000 houses. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…