Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Eden Undone: Should’ve been renamed Cuckoo Island after they left. Quick synopsis: The true story of people trying to live in isolation on an island in the Galápagos. Insanity ensues.   Fact for Non-History People: Tortoises on the Galápagos have been measured as weighing as much as 700 pounds. Fact for…

  • The Daring Exploits of Pirate Black Sam Bellamy by Jaime Goodall

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Daring Exploits of Pirate Black Sam Bellamy: Pirates, witches, and Cape Cod. Quick synopsis: The story of the notorious pirate Black Sam Bellamy. Fact for Non-History People: By some measures, Bellamy is the richest pirate ever with about $120 million stolen by today’s estimates. (Disclaimer: This is a really hard…

  • Marquis de Lafayette Returns by Elizabeth Reese

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Marquis de Lafayette Returns: That’s my boy right there! Quick synopsis: The story of the Marquis de Lafayette’s return to the U.S. years after the revolution. Fact for Non-History People: Lafayette spent about $250,000 of his own money during the revolution ($5 million today). Fact for History Nerds: The throat infection…

  • The Siege by Ben Macintyre

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Siege: Proof that fiction can’t touch great non-fiction. I said what I said. Quick synopsis: The story of the 1980 hostage crisis of the Iranian embassy in London. Fact for Non-History People: British police did not carry guns except for Diplomatic Protection officers. That becomes very important. Fact for History…

  • Our Flag Was Still There by Tom McMillan

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Our Flag Was Still There: This book is a Star-Spangled Banger. Quick synopsis: The story of the flag over Fort McHenry both before and after the battle. Fact for Non-History People: Francis Scott Key’s son was murdered in the middle of Washington D.C. over an affair. Fact for History Nerds: The…

  • Reaping the Whirlwind by Dominic Etzold

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Reaping the Whirlwind: More reasons never to go in a submarine. Quick synopsis: A look at the submarine war in World War I off the coast of the U.S. Fact for Non-History People: Only 5 German subs made it across the Atlantic to the U.S. coast during World War I as…

  • The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Stalin Affair: Romancing Uncle Joe. Quick synopsis: A look at the alliance between Stalin, Churchill, and FDR in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: A U.S. poll taken two days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union found that two-thirds of the country was against aiding Stalin. Fact…

  • Combing Through the White House by Theodore Pappas

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Combing Through the White House: Talk about some hairy situations! (I’ll see myself out.) Quick synopsis: A book about presidential hair. Yes, you read that correctly. Fact for Non-History People: Lincoln was clean-shaven for a good portion of his life until a young girl wrote him a letter suggesting he grow…

  • President Garfield by CW Goodyear

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for President Garfield: More than just an assassination. Quick synopsis: A full biography of President Garfield. Fact for Non-History People: By age 26, Garfield was married and a college president. Fact for History Nerds: Garfield never lost an election in his life. My Take on President Garfield: To be honest, I wondered…