Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • The American School of Spies by Stephan Talty

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The American School of Spies: If you can’t run with it, then bury it. Quick synopsis: The spies who protected Greek treasures in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Many of the spies were Ivy Leaguers with backgrounds in the classics and archaeology. Fact for History Nerds: One member was…

  • Two Ships by David Reynolds

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Two Ships: Two ships but plenty of arguments. Quick synopsis: A look at American history from the view of two ships, the Mayflower and the White Lion. Fact for Non-History People: While the White Lion is credited as being the first ship to bring slavery to the American colonies, the enslaved…

  • Stalin’s Apostles by Antonia Senior

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Stalin’s Apostles: Traitors be thy name. Quick synopsis: The story of the Soviet spies embedded in the U.K during World War II and the Cold War. Fact for Non-History People: One of the apostles, Kim Philby, was put in charge of the MI6 section which focused on finding…Soviet spies. Fact for…

  • 1873 by Liaquat Ahamed

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for 1873: The depression before the depression. Quick synopsis: The story of the worldwide crash and depression of 1873. Fact for Non-History People: The crash bankrupted 89 out of 364 U.S. railroads. Fact for History Nerds: The crash was initially called the Great Depression but when 1929 surpassed it, it was then…

  • Self-Help from the Middle Ages by Peter Jones

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Self-Help from the Middle Ages: Poor people couldn’t turn to Instagram to fix their lives. Quick synopsis: A look at psychological thought in a time period you wouldn’t expect. Fact for Non-History People: The Seven Deadly Sins were used as an early diagnostic tool. Fact for History Nerds: Catholic confession could…

  • The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Black Death: The ultimate equalizer. Quick synopsis: A look at the most devastating plague in human history. Fact for Non-History People: There are still 1,000 to 2,000 cases of plague reported each year. Fact for History Nerds: People who lived through it didn’t call it the Black Death. They called…

  • This Dark Night by Deborah Lutz

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for This Dark Night: It’s a family thing. Quick synopsis: The life of author Emily Brontë. Fact for Non-History People: Emily’s initial pen name was Ellis Bell. Fact for History Nerds: Emily first received attention when she co-authored a book of poems with her sisters. My Take on This Dark Night: Ah,…

  • The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel by Douglas Brunt

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Too much money being made for Stalin’s taste. Quick synopsis: The story of oil titan Emanuel Nobel. Fact for Non-History People: The current Nobel Prize monetary award is about $1 million. Fact for History Nerds: Previous nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize include Adolf Hitler,…

  • The Long Run by Martin Dugard

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Long Run: Much easier to read this than actually run. Quick synopsis: The story of the marathon and the worldwide running boom. Fact for Non-History People: The marathon distance wasn’t officially standardized at 26.2 miles until 1921. It was very complicated before that. Fact for History Nerds: The fastest official…