Category: Books/Museum Reviews
-
The Siege by Ben Macintyre
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Siege: Proof that fiction can’t touch great non-fiction. I said what I said. Quick synopsis: The story of the 1980 hostage crisis of the Iranian embassy in London. Fact for Non-History People: British police did not carry guns except for Diplomatic Protection officers. That becomes very important. Fact for History…
-
Our Flag Was Still There by Tom McMillan
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Our Flag Was Still There: This book is a Star-Spangled Banger. Quick synopsis: The story of the flag over Fort McHenry both before and after the battle. Fact for Non-History People: Francis Scott Key’s son was murdered in the middle of Washington D.C. over an affair. Fact for History Nerds: The…
-
Reaping the Whirlwind by Dominic Etzold
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Reaping the Whirlwind: More reasons never to go in a submarine. Quick synopsis: A look at the submarine war in World War I off the coast of the U.S. Fact for Non-History People: Only 5 German subs made it across the Atlantic to the U.S. coast during World War I as…
-
The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Stalin Affair: Romancing Uncle Joe. Quick synopsis: A look at the alliance between Stalin, Churchill, and FDR in World War II. Fact for Non-History People: A U.S. poll taken two days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union found that two-thirds of the country was against aiding Stalin. Fact…
-
Combing Through the White House by Theodore Pappas
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Combing Through the White House: Talk about some hairy situations! (I’ll see myself out.) Quick synopsis: A book about presidential hair. Yes, you read that correctly. Fact for Non-History People: Lincoln was clean-shaven for a good portion of his life until a young girl wrote him a letter suggesting he grow…
-
President Garfield by CW Goodyear
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for President Garfield: More than just an assassination. Quick synopsis: A full biography of President Garfield. Fact for Non-History People: By age 26, Garfield was married and a college president. Fact for History Nerds: Garfield never lost an election in his life. My Take on President Garfield: To be honest, I wondered…
-
The Dragon from Chicago by Pamela Toler
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Dragon from Chicago: She made the right enemies. Quick synopsis: The story of American journalist Sigrid Schultz and her reporting in Europe before and during World War II. Fact for Non-History People: Until the 1930s, women’s citizenship was defined by the citizenship of her father or husband. Fact for History…
-
Adventures in Volcanoland by Tamsin Mather
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Adventures in Volcanoland: Big mountain go boom sometimes. Quick synopsis: A science travelogue by a seasoned volcanologist. Fact for Non-History People: The continents move at about the same rate of toenail growth. Fact for History Nerds: Radium is a million times more radioactive than uranium. My Take on Adventures in Volcanoland:…
-
The Devil at His Elbow by Valerie Bauerlein
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Devil at His Elbow: Keeping murder in the family. Quick synopsis: The story of disgraced lawyer and killer, Alex Murdaugh. Fact for Non-History People: Hampton County, S.C. is named for a Confederate general who had been one of the South’s biggest slave owners. Fact for History Nerds: The Murdaugh family…