Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Ship Ablaze by Edward O’Donnell
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ship Ablaze: Sometimes life preservers are a bad idea. Quick synopsis: The story of the disaster of the General Slocum in 1904. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: On a pleasure cruise around New York City, the boat caught fire and sank killing 1,342 people on board. It was the worst…
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Voyage of Mercy by Stephen Puleo
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Voyage of Mercy: Want to know why Ireland hates England? Well, here is one of the many reasons! Quick synopsis: The story of America’s first true humanitarian mission during the Great Irish Famine. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: One of the donations to Ireland came from the Choctaw Indian tribe.…
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Sudden Sea by R.A. Scotti
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Sudden Sea: It was a wicked stahm, brah. (Note to my editor: This is me mocking a New England accent. Please don’t tell me I have two misspellings.) Quick synopsis: The story of the 1938 Great New England Hurricane. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Katharine Hepburn was caught up in…
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Never In Finer Company by Edward G. Lengel
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Never In Finer Company: Military egomaniacs get their men in a jam? You don’t say. Quick synopsis: Story of the “Lost Battalion” in World War I. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Jokes about using pigeons to send messages are commonplace as jokes. I think people forget that it actually was…
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Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Dead Mountain: This is why I never go camping. OR In Soviet Russia, mountain kill you! Quick synopsis: The story of the mysterious death of 9 hikers in the Ural Mountains of Russia in 1959. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The nine hikers’ bodies were found in various forms of…
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The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghost Map: If you thought doctors were clueless now…. Quick synopsis: The story of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in England and how two men figured out why it was happening. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The cholera outbreak chronicled here killed 616 people. It all came from…
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What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for What Made Maddy Run: Every parent’s worst nightmare. Quick synopsis: The life and suicide of Madison Holleran, a young University of Pennsylvania athlete. History Fact: The University of Pennsylvania is in the Ivy League. Who knew? Fun Fact for History Nerds: Important Note: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255. My Take…
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The Book Was Better: King Leopold’s Ghost
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for King Leopold’s Ghost: You’ll never look at rubber the same way again. Quick synopsis: The story of King Leopold II of Belgium and how he took over. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Leopold II of Belgium is responsible for the death of about 10 million Africans. Some people today still…
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The Book Was Better: In The Heart of the Sea
Alternate Tagline for In the Heart of the Sea: Don’t piss off whales. Quick synopsis: The story of a whaling ship sunk by a whale in the Pacific Ocean and the fight to stay alive after. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Moby Dick exists partially because of this story. Don’t hold that against the…