Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Life Sentence by Amy Bell
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Life Sentence: No good deed goes unpunished. Quick synopsis: The story of how defending two killers ruined a man’s life. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Before the murder of the police officers in this story in 1974, no policeman had been killed on Moncton, Canada since 1892. Fun Fact for History…
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Koresh by Stephan Talty
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Koresh: He was way more awful than you remember. Quick synopsis: The story of David Koresh and how his life led to the tragedy at Waco. Fun Fact for Non-History People: David Koresh’s real name was Vernon Wayne Howell. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The Branch Davidians didn’t exist because of…
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The Lionkeeper of Algiers by Des Ekin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lionkeeper of Algiers: At least you could own a bar. Quick synopsis: The story of James Leander Cathcart, who was kidnapped at sea and held for ransom in Algiers. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Cathcart was only 8 years old when we became a seaman. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…
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There Will Be Fire by Rory Carroll
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for There Will Be Fire: They didn’t get lucky even once. Quick synopsis: The story of the near miss assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher by the Irish Republican Army in 1984. Fact for Non-History People: The tagline refers to the message from the IRA after the bombing: “Today we were unlucky, but…
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The Peking Express by James Zimmerman
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Peking Express: This trip took way longer than expected. Quick synopsis: The 1923 attack and subsequent kidnapping of the people on China’s Peking Express. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Peking Express was actually bulletproof because bandits were expected to exist on the route. It didn’t do much help…
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Gangbuster by Alan Prendergast
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Gangbuster: Denver needs to rename a few landmarks. Quick synopsis: A true crime story about Denver District Attorney Philip Van Cise. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In 1876, there were two working telephone lines in the world. By 1922, there were over 15 million phones in the U.S. alone. Fun…
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Crooked by Nathan Masters
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Crooked: Thank God politicians aren’t criminals like this anymore. Quick synopsis: The story of a corrupt Attorney General and the senator who tried to bring him. Fact for Non-History People: How about this for graft? During World War I, Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation overcharged the government by $2 million dollars. They never…
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Ghosts of the Orphanage by Christine Kenneally
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ghosts of the Orphanage: “Orphanage” is a super misleading term. Quick synopsis: The history of abuse at St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Vermont. Fact for Non-History People: Most children in orphanages WERE NOT ORPHANS. Usually, one, if NOT BOTH, parents were still alive. Fact for History Nerds: Efforts by the Catholic Church…
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Africatown by Nick Tabor
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Africatown: Apparently, slavery wasn’t bad enough, so the discrimination just kept going. Quick synopsis: The story of the last slave ship to land in America and the fate of the people when slavery ended. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In 1850, cotton consumption worldwide was 1.5 billion pounds. By 1859,…