Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • N-4 Down by Mark Piesing

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for N-4 Down: Airship in the Arctic? What could possibly go wrong? Quick synopsis: The story of Umberto Nobile’s attempt to explore the North Pole in an airship. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The first time Santa was said to live in the North Pole was by poet Thomas Nash in…

  • Woman, Captain, Rebel by Margaret Willson

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Woman, Captain, Rebel: I would not recommend living in Iceland in the 1800s. Quick synopsis: The life of Captain Thurídur, Iceland’s most famous female sea captain, in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In 1783, a massive volcanic eruption decimated Iceland which would ultimately kill…

  • Sinkable by Daniel Stone

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Sinkable: Yet another reason not to go on a boat. Quick synopsis: A look at the history of ships and shipwrecks through the lens of the Titanic. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Scientists believe the Titanic will disappear altogether within the next few decades. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Scientists…

  • Operation Underworld by Matthew Black

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Operation Underworld: They may be criminals, but they are still Americans. Quick synopsis: The story of how the Mafia helped the war effort during World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When TVs were first being introduced to the public, RCA had to create TVs with a transparent case,…

  • Hanged in Medicine Hat by Nathan Greenfield

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hanged in Medicine Hat: Life is so much more civilized without Nazis. Quick synopsis: The story of executions at a German POW camp in Canada. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Yes, there is a town in Canada called Medicine Hat. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Yes, there were German POW…

  • A Billion Years by Mike Rinder

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Billion Years: Tom Cruise has some explaining to do. Quick synopsis: A memoir by Mike Rinder, who was a higher up in the Church of Scientology. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Scientology practices what’s called “bullbaiting” which is an exercise to eliminate reactions to people saying things to you.…

  • Empire of Ice and Stone by Buddy Levy

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Empire of Ice and Stone: The lesson, as always, is don’t go to the Arctic. Quick synopsis: The story of the Karluk, which was shipwrecked in the Arctic and the crew’s attempts to survive. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Friendly reminder that many of the events in the Arctic take…

  • The Lion and the Fox by Alexander Rose

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lion and the Fox: Don’t mess with a pencil pusher. Quick synopsis: The story of a Union agent and a Confederate agent battling in England over the creation of a Confederate navy. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: At the beginning of the Civil War, the South only had ammunition…

  • The Lighthouse of Stalingrad by Iain MacGregor

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lighthouse of Stalingrad: Hard reading about the Russians as good guys right now. Quick synopsis: The story of the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The U.S. suffered 419,000 killed in action in World War II. The Soviets suffered 27,000,000. Fun Fact for…