Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • The Watchmaker’s Daughter by Larry Loftis

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Watchmaker’s Daughter: She did more than make watches. Quick synopsis: The story of World War II heroine Corrie ten Boom. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Corrie ten Boom is credited with saving nearly 800 lives. Fact for History Nerds: She was also the first female licensed watchmaker in the Netherlands.…

  • A Brutal Reckoning by Peter Cozzens

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson needed serious therapy. Quick synopsis: The story of the Creek War in the southern United States from 1813-1814. Fun Fact for Non-History People: The descendants of the Creek live in Eastern Oklahoma as part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and number 86,000 members. Fact for History…

  • Lost at Sea by John Wukovits

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lost at Sea: Yeah, this title is pretty spot on. Quick synopsis: The story of war hero Eddie Rickenbacker and his crew’s crash and fight for survival in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Eddie Rickenbacker got addicted to speed when he first drove in…

  • Meat Grinder by Prit Buttar

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Meat Grinder: Nazis and Soviets trying to one up each other in the game of “needless slaughter.” Quick synopsis: A look at the battles for the Rzhev Salient right outside Stalingrad in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Russians trained dogs to be suicide bombers. I am not okay with…

  • Ambush at Central Park by Mark Bulik

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ambush at Central Park: Snitches get….shot in a totally different country. Quick synopsis: The story of the only IRA sanctioned assassination on U.S. soil. Fun Fact for Non-History People: In Cork, Ireland, a favorite activity was called “road bowling” and it involved cannonballs and public streets. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…

  • Knowing What We Know by Simon Winchester

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Knowing What We Know: What I know is that I don’t know much. Quick synopsis: A look at knowledge and how our understanding and interaction with the world has changed through history. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Language was born in 4 different places all over the world around 3400 B.C.…

  • Into the Amazon by Larry Rohter

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Into the Amazon: This dude did not like sleeping in his own bed. Quick synopsis: The biography of Cândido Rondon who was a Brazilian explorer and about 20 other things. Fact for Non-History People: Rondon took Teddy Roosevelt on an expedition through the Amazon where all of them almost died. Fact…

  • The 1998 Yankees by Jack Curry

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The 1998 Yankees: They are the greatest. Period, done. Quick synopsis: The story of the greatest baseball team of all time, the 1998 Yankees. Fact for Non-History People: The Yankees outscored their opponents by 309 runs. If you aren’t a baseball fan, trust me, that’s insane. It was the highest since…

  • Life Sentence by Mark Bowden

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Life Sentence: “The Wire” is more realistic than we want to admit. Quick synopsis: The life and crimes of Montana “Tana” Barronette in Baltimore. Fact for Non-History People: In 2015 Sandtown, Baltimore, there were 64 murders and only 18 people ended up being charged. Yes, that’s a very bad rate. Fact…