Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • The Dragon from Chicago by Pamela Toler

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Dragon from Chicago: She made the right enemies. Quick synopsis: The story of American journalist Sigrid Schultz and her reporting in Europe before and during World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Until the 1930s, women’s citizenship was defined by the citizenship of her father or husband. Fact for History…

  • Adventures in Volcanoland by Tamsin Mather

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Adventures in Volcanoland: Big mountain go boom sometimes. Quick synopsis: A science travelogue by a seasoned volcanologist. Fact for Non-History People: The continents move at about the same rate of toenail growth. Fact for History Nerds: Radium is a million times more radioactive than uranium. My Take on Adventures in Volcanoland:…

  • The Devil at His Elbow by Valerie Bauerlein

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Devil at His Elbow: Keeping murder in the family. Quick synopsis: The story of disgraced lawyer and killer, Alex Murdaugh. Fact for Non-History People: Hampton County, S.C. is named for a Confederate general who had been one of the South’s biggest slave owners. Fact for History Nerds: The Murdaugh family…

  • A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World by José Luis González Macías

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World: Long title, short book, tons of fun! Quick synopsis: A look at lighthouses…at the end of the world. So, the title, basically. Fact for Non-History People: The first lighthouse was of course Egypt’s Pharos of Alexandria, better know as…

  • Twenty Years by Sune Engel Rasmussen

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Twenty Years: Plenty of rage to go around. Quick synopsis: A look at the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of various Afghans. Fact for Non-History People: In the 1980s, Afghans in Iran and Pakistan made up nearly half of the world’s population of refugees. Fact for History Nerds: The U.S.…

  • The Horse by Timothy Winegard

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Horse: Because without them, we’d have to walk. Like suckers. Quick synopsis: The story of the horse. Yes, the whole story. Fact for Non-History People: 99.99 percent of all species that have ever existed are extinct. Fact for History Nerds: Horses have been used in war for over 5,000 years.…

  • A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Well-Trained Wife: When you gotta go, you gotta go. Quick synopsis: The story of how Tia Levings left her abusive marriage. Fact for Non-History People: U.S. women couldn’t open their own bank accounts until 1960. Fact for History Nerds: They couldn’t get credit cards until 1974. My Take on A…

  • McMillions by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for McMillions: Happy Meal with a side of fraud. Quick synopsis: The story of how no one really won the Monopoly game at McDonald’s. Fact for Non-History People: McDonald’s executives are required to work at a restaurant for a week. Fact for History Nerds: The chances of winning one of the big…

  • Red Dead’s History by Tore Olsson

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Red Dead’s History: When video games and history collide. Quick synopsis: A look at how historically accurate the video game Red Dead Redemption II is. Fact for Non-History People: Red Dead Redemption II has sold over fifty million copies and is in the top ten of bestselling video games ever. Fact…