Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • Becoming the Ex-Wife by Marsha Gordon

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Becoming the Ex-Wife: Best thing that ever happened to her. Quick synopsis: The story of author Ursula Parrott who popularized the term “ex-wife.” Fact for Non-History People: A 1930s study found that 94% of women believed divorce should be the solution for an unhappy marriage but only 54% approved if there…

  • Ira Hayes by Tom Holm

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ira Hayes: An example of someone who never wanted the limelight. Quick synopsis: The story of Ira Hayes, one of the marines to raise the American Flag at Iwo Jima. Fact for Non-History People: We didn’t have the right names of the men who raised the flag until 2019. Fact for…

  • The Tao of the Backup Catcher by Tim Brown with Erik Kratz

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Tao of the Backup Catcher: It better be a good Tao because this job is rough. Quick synopsis: The story of Erik Kratz and the life of a career backup catcher in Major League Baseball. Fact for Non-History People: 60% of players who get one day as a major leaguer…

  • Chasing Shadows by Greg Skomal and Ret Talbot

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Chasing Shadows: The book has sharks. What more do you need? Quick synopsis: The story of sharks and shark expert Greg Skomal. Fact for Non-History People: Great White Sharks and their ancestors have survived every mass extinction event for more than 450 million years. Fact for History Nerds: Humpback whales are…

  • Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Peter Moore

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Not everyone loved Benjamin Franklin. Quick synopsis: The story of how the phrase, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” came to be in American culture. Fact for Non-History People: 12 of the original colonies voted yes on the Declaration of Independence on July…

  • No Ordinary Assignment by Jane Ferguson

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for No Ordinary Assignment: Safety? Sounds boring. Quick synopsis: The story of war journalist, Jane Ferguson. Fact for Non-History People: Sana’a, Yemen, is believed to be the one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Fact for History Nerds: The Somali language wasn’t formally written down until the 1970s. My…

  • Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hands of Time: Watch this! (I’ll see myself out.) Quick synopsis: The story of the watch by a horologist. Fact for Non-History People: That weird little pocket inside the pocket of your jeans? It was put there to hold a pocket watch. Fact for History Nerds: As of 2020, the most…

  • Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus by H.H. Leonards

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus: She didn’t just disappear after the bus incident. Quick synopsis: The story of Rosa Parks and her relationship with museum owner, H.H. Leonards. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Rosa Parks was a supporter of the Black Panthers. Fun Fact for History Nerds: H.H. Leonards started…

  • Flash Point by Christy Warren

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Flash Point: Fire ended up being the least of her worries. Quick synopsis: The story of paramedic and firefighter Christy Warren and her battle with PTSD. Fact for Non-History People: 5% of all career firefighters are women. Fact for History Nerds: If an ambulance has an EMT and a paramedic on…