Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Sinkable by Daniel Stone
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Sinkable: Yet another reason not to go on a boat. Quick synopsis: A look at the history of ships and shipwrecks through the lens of the Titanic. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Scientists believe the Titanic will disappear altogether within the next few decades. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Scientists…
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Operation Underworld by Matthew Black
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Operation Underworld: They may be criminals, but they are still Americans. Quick synopsis: The story of how the Mafia helped the war effort during World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When TVs were first being introduced to the public, RCA had to create TVs with a transparent case,…
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Hanged in Medicine Hat by Nathan Greenfield
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hanged in Medicine Hat: Life is so much more civilized without Nazis. Quick synopsis: The story of executions at a German POW camp in Canada. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Yes, there is a town in Canada called Medicine Hat. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Yes, there were German POW…
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A Billion Years by Mike Rinder
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Billion Years: Tom Cruise has some explaining to do. Quick synopsis: A memoir by Mike Rinder, who was a higher up in the Church of Scientology. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Scientology practices what’s called “bullbaiting” which is an exercise to eliminate reactions to people saying things to you.…
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Empire of Ice and Stone by Buddy Levy
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Empire of Ice and Stone: The lesson, as always, is don’t go to the Arctic. Quick synopsis: The story of the Karluk, which was shipwrecked in the Arctic and the crew’s attempts to survive. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Friendly reminder that many of the events in the Arctic take…
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The Lion and the Fox by Alexander Rose
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lion and the Fox: Don’t mess with a pencil pusher. Quick synopsis: The story of a Union agent and a Confederate agent battling in England over the creation of a Confederate navy. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: At the beginning of the Civil War, the South only had ammunition…
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The Lighthouse of Stalingrad by Iain MacGregor
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: Hard reading about the Russians as good guys right now. Quick synopsis: The story of the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The U.S. suffered 419,000 killed in action in World War II. The Soviets suffered 27,000,000. Fun Fact for…
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Happy Thanksgiving, Nerds!
We hope you are somewhere comfy and cozy with people you actually want to be around. What? You need something to distract yourself that’s history related? We got you covered. Check out Saints & Strangers which is amazing. It’s now a Thanksgiving tradition for me. (Review here.) In between football, of course. Stay cool, nerds.
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Deadly Triangle by Susan Goldberg
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Deadly Triangle: Canadian murder, eh! Quick synopsis: The 1935 murder of famous Canadian architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Francis Rattenbury had a major windfall in creating a government building by negotiating his profits to be tied to the final cost. He then went over budget by…