Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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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:…
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Highlight Real by Emily Lynn Paulson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Highlight Real: You definitely wouldn’t post these stories to your insta. Quick synopsis: The story of Emily Lynn Paulson’s journey to sobriety. Fact for Non-History People: Female alcohol use disorder increased by 83% from 2002 to 2013. Fact for History Nerds: The human brain fires off 20 million billion (not a…
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Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hey, Hun: Get in line to lose your money! Quick synopsis: The story of Emily Lynn Paulson’s journey through the world of MLMs. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Between 96 and 99.7% of people who buy into MLMs lose money. Fact for History Nerds: Studies have found about 90% of new…
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The Watchmaker’s Daughter by Larry Loftis
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Watchmaker’s Daughter: She did more than make watches. Quick synopsis: The story of World War II heroine Corrie ten Boom. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Corrie ten Boom is credited with saving nearly 800 lives. Fact for History Nerds: She was also the first female licensed watchmaker in the Netherlands.…
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A Brutal Reckoning by Peter Cozzens
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson needed serious therapy. Quick synopsis: The story of the Creek War in the southern United States from 1813-1814. Fun Fact for Non-History People: The descendants of the Creek live in Eastern Oklahoma as part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and number 86,000 members. Fact for History…
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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:…