Category: Books/Museum Reviews
-
Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Blood & Ivy: Murrrrrderrrrrr at Haaaaaaavaaaaad. Quick synopsis: The story of a murdered Harvard alum in 1849. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Most people don’t realize this, but surgeons often had a very hard time practicing their craft. Dead bodies for study were hard to come across and aspiring doctors…
-
Diamonds, Gold, and War by Martin Meredith
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Diamonds, Gold, and War: Boer, what’s it good for? Quick synopsis: The story of how South Africa went from a backwater British colony to one of the most sought-after prizes on earth. (Spoiler alert: It’s in the title, obviously.) Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Boer Wars have nothing to…
-
Absolute Monarchs by John Julius Norwich
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Absolute Monarchs: Popes behaving badly. Quick synopsis: It’s about the Pope. All of them. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Pope Stephen VI put Pope Formosus on trial. The catch? Formosus was dead for 7 months. They exhumed him and had him sit there during the trial. It’s called the Cadaver…
-
Last Man Off by Matt Lewis
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Last Man Off: This is why I didn’t join the navy. Quick synopsis: First person retelling of the sinking of the Sudur Havid, a fishing boat which sank near Antarctica. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When the Sudur Havid went fishing they put about 15,000 hooks in the water at…
-
Under a Flaming Sky by Daniel James Brown
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Under a Flaming Sky: Well I’m certainly going to be nice to Forest Rangers after reading this. Quick synopsis: The story of the 1894 firestorm in Hinckley, Minnesota which burned 350,000 acres in 5 hours and killed over 400 people. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Think it’s safe to jump…
-
God, War, and Providence by James Warren
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for God, War, and Providence: Massholes. Quick synopsis: A look at how Roger Williams and Rhode Island came to be and also how the other colonies (especially Massachusetts, they come off looking really bad) screwed over their Indian neighbors and tried to destroy Rhode Island. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When…
-
The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghosts of Eden Park: Prohibition was so stupid. Quick synopsis: The story of George Remus, a famous bootlegger who became famous for something else afterwards. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: George Remus was the “king of the bootleggers” and at one point owned one seventh of the bonded liquor…
-
Lost Paradise by Kathy Marks
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lost Paradise: These people make the Tiger King look downright classy. Quick synopsis: A short history of the people of Pitcairn Island with a specific focus on the sexual assault trials of 2004. It is all really gross. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The people of Pitcairn Island are the…
-
The Last Duel by Eric Jager
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Last Duel: This is why we have lawyers. Quick synopsis: The story of the last trial by combat in France in 1386. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are set to write and act in the movie version of this book. That is all the…