Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • In the Mouth of the Wolf by Katherine Corcoran

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for In the Mouth of the Wolf: Well, this ruins my planned trip to Mexico. Quick synopsis: A journalist’s attempt to solve the murder of fellow journalist, Regina Martinez. Fun Fact for Non-History People Will Like: 10 journalists were killed in Mexico in 2010. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Between 2004 and…

  • Death by Fire and Ice by Brian E. O’Connor

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Death by Fire and Ice: My vote is the fire part is worse. Quick synopsis: The story of the sinking of the steamboat Lexington in 1840 and how it all happened. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Cornelius Vanderbilt started out working on his father’s New York ferry. Fun Fact for…

  • White Knights in the Black Orchestra by Tom Dunkel

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for White Knights in the Black Orchestra: Yeah, the title is already awesome. I got nothing. Quick synopsis: The story of various Germans who tried to destroy the Nazis from within in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Henry Ford was a huge anti-Semite. Hitler was a huge admirer…

  • The Ghosts That Haunt Me by Steve Ryan

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghosts That Haunt Me: And now they’ll haunt you, too! Quick synopsis: Retired Toronto detective Steve Ryan chronicles the cases which still haunt him today. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Steve Ryan is now a crime analyst for a Canadian TV station. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Toronto is…

  • All That Is Wicked by Kate Winkler Dawson

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for All That Is Wicked: There might be a correlation between amazing arrogance and sociopathy. Quick synopsis: The story of Edward Rulloff and his many murders in the 1800s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Edward Rulloff thought language was universal. Basically, he thought language was math. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…

  • River of the Gods by Candice Millard

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for River of the Gods: Who knew adventurers could be so catty? Quick synopsis: The story of the men who tried to find the source of the Nile River. Well, the first Europeans anyway. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When you wear a cardigan, you can thank the man it was…

  • American Midnight by Adam Hochschild

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for American Midnight: All was not fine on the home front. Quick synopsis: A look at the American home front around the time of World War I. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: On June 5, 1917, all eligible men were required to register for the draft. Although there were concerns on…

  • España by Giles Tremlett

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Espana: ¡Este libro es genial! Quick synopsis: A brief history of Spain up until the present day. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The elephants Hannibal took over the Alps were only 3 meters tall. They are an extinct species of elephants. Yeah, I thought they were bigger, too. Fun Fact…

  • Nothing but the Night by Greg King/Penny Wilson

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Nothing but the Night: Who’s more innocent? Well, they both suck. Quick synopsis: The story of the murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in Chicago. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Grandpa Walton from The Waltons on TV knew Richard Loeb and thought he was a smart…