Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Scholars of Mayhem by Daniel Guiet/Timothy Smith
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Scholars of Mayhem: PhD in killing Nazis. Quick synopsis: The story of Jean Claude Guiet and his team of saboteurs in World War II France. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Once France was liberated, you could tell which women collaborated with the Germans by their telltale shaved head which was…
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Six Days in August by David King
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Six Days in August: Who wouldn’t fall in love with their kidnapper? Quick synopsis: The story of the Norrmalmstorg bank robbery in Sweden in 1973. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Why do you care about a bank robbery with a funny name? This is how “Stockholm Syndrome” entered the public…
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In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park/Maryanne Vollers
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for In Order to Live: North Korea is worse than I thought, amazingly. Quick synopsis: The story of Yeonmi Park, who escaped North Korea only to end up being human trafficked in China. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Children are taught that Kim Jong Il wrote fifteen hundred books while at…
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The Book Was Better: Catch and Kill
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Catch and Kill: Movie producers are perverts? Who knew? Except literally everyone. Quick synopsis: The story of how Ronan Farrow took down Harvey Weinstein. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Ronan Farrow is also a lawyer and clearly an overachiever. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Weinstein actually reached out to Woody…
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Grant and Sherman by Charles Bracelen Flood
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grant and Sherman: The ultimate Civil War bromance. Quick synopsis: A look at the friendship between Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman and how it shaped the Civil War. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: One of the best quotes of all time: “Grant stood by me when I was…
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Lucky 666 by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lucky 666: Sure, why not just build your own plane during World War II. Quick synopsis: The story of the Old 666, a B-17 bomber put together with scraps in Papua New Guinea in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The main event of the book is the…
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The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Woman They Could Not Silence: So, this is why no one wants to go to therapy. Quick synopsis: The story of Elizabeth Packard, who was forcibly committed by her husband for having an opinion. Yeah, really. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In the 1860s, the leading cause of insanity…
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The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn by Robert Watson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn: This book made me want to punch a British person. Quick synopsis: A look inside one of the notorious British prison ships used during the American Revolution, the HMS Jersey. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: “HMS” in front of a British ship’s name stands for…
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Faster by Neal Bascomb
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Faster: Apparently, Hitler would have loved the Fast and the Furious movies. Quick synopsis: The story of how a French race car driver and American heiress embarrassed the German racing team on the eve of World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Car racing in the 1920s and 30s…