Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Dark Tide: You’ll never think of a sugar rush the same way again. Quick synopsis: A recounting of the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. You heard me right. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In 1919, a giant vat of molasses in Boston burst, sending a flood of molasses through…
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Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Romantic Outlaws: Like mother, like daughter. Almost literally. Quick synopsis: A dual biography of Mary Wollstonecraft, a very famous feminist writer and her daughter Mary Shelley who wrote a little book called Frankenstein. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Basically, Frankenstein got written because Mary Shelley was on vacation and someone…
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The Girl on the Velvet Swing by Simon Baatz
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Girl on the Velvet Swing: A whole lotta crazy going on. Quick synopsis: A true crime story from the early 1900s. A famous architect rapes a woman and he is later murdered publicly by the woman’s husband. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Stanford White was a famous architect who…
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Nitro by Guy Evans
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Nitro: “He’s reviewing a professional wrestling book? I told you this guy was white trash.” Quick synopsis: A look into the rise of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) when it took on the Word Wrestling Entertainment (WWE formerly WWF). Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: You think wrestling is just for white…
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A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Night to Remember: Better than the movie. Certainly shorter. Quick synopsis: The classic retelling of the sinking of the Titanic. Enough said. This book was used as reference material for James Cameron when he wrote Titanic. Walter Lord wrote it in 1955. I believe that’s the definition of timeless. Fun…
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A Wretched and Precarious Situation – David Welky
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Wretched and Precarious Situation: Wretched and precarious for them, fun for us. Quick synopsis: The story of the Crocker Land expedition where Artic explorers went in search of Crocker Land first glimpsed but unexplored by a previous expedition. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Go to a map and find…
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Museum Review: Manassas Museum
Museum Focus: The museum for Manassas, Virginia. Where is it: 9101 Prince William St, Manassas, VA 20110. I used to live here! No, not at the museum. In the city. What does it cost: Free! How long should I plan to stay: Not a very long time. This is a small museum which is only…
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Tulipomania by Mike Dash
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Tulipomania: A book. About a flower. And I liked it. Quick synopsis: The history of tulipomania. What the hell is that? In 1630s Netherlands, they really liked tulips. They liked them so much, people lost fortunes. ON TULIPS! Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: This is just a great line. This…
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Batavia’s Graveyard by Mike Dash
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Batavia’s Graveyard: Well, this escalates quickly. Quick synopsis: The story of the Dutch ship, the Batavia in 1628. Oh, that doesn’t sound interesting? How about the subsequent mutiny, murder, and final battle on the beach for the lives of all who still lived? Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Do I…