Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hero of Two Worlds: Parisians definitely have made a habit of rioting. Quick synopsis: A biography of the Marquis de Lafayette. They keep writing them and I am going to keep reading them. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Good job, Hartford, Connecticut. When Lafayette and his family were trying to…

  • The Lost Story of the Ocean Monarch by Gill Hoffs

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lost Story of the Ocean Monarch: A chronicle of how much the 19th century sucked. Quick synopsis: The story of the sinking of the Ocean Monarch in 1848. The ship was an emigrant ship headed for Boston and caught fire soon after leaving port. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:…

  • The Great Mortality by John Kelly

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Great Mortality: If you think the coronavirus sucks… Quick synopsis: A look at the Black Death as it raged across Europe. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In Italy, some towns saw over an 80% death rate. Think of 10 of your neighbors. 8 of them would have been dead…

  • Target Tokyo by James M. Scott

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline: Wait, we bombed Tokyo right after Pearl Harbor? I’ll be damned. Quick synopsis: We bombed Tokyo right after Pearl Harbor. Yes, really. Jimmy Doolittle and his Doolittle Raiders actually did a hell of a lot. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When the Doolittle Raiders took off for their bombing run, they…

  • The Midnight Assassin by Skip Hollandsworth

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline: The serial killer was mostly known as the Servant Girl Annihilator. Well then. Quick synopsis of The Midnight Assassin: The story of a serial killer in Austin, Texas between 1884 and 1885. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Servant Girl Annihilator preceded Jack the Ripper but was so close in timing…

  • The Volunteer by Jack Fairweather

    Quick synopsis of The Volunteer: The story of Polish World War II hero, Witold Pilecki. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The dude VOLUNTEERED to be sent to Auschwitz to foment rebellion in the camp. Yes, THAT Auschwitz. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Dude then BROKE OUT OF AUSCHWITZ. My Take on The Volunteer: Well,…

  • The Lady in the Cellar by Sinclair McKay

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lady in the Cellar: A lady in the cellar and a lot of bats in the belfry. Quick synopsis: A true crime story about a woman murdered in a boarding house in the late 1800s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Asian décor was big in the late 1800s of…

  • Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright/Bradley Hope

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline to Billion Dollar Whale: Apparently you don’t need money to make money. Quick synopsis: The story of how Jho Low stole billions of dollars from various entities. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The money stolen was partially used to fund the making of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Irony…

  • Hannibal by Patrick Hunt

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hannibal: This book has nothing to do with Anthony Hopkins. Quick synopsis: A biography of Hannibal Barca focusing mainly on his time in the area of today’s Italy and surrounding areas. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Archimedes, a nerdy math guy, came up with a mirror he could use to…