Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • Napoleon by Andrew Roberts

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Napoleon: Such a big life from such a little man. Quick synopsis: A (very) in depth biography of Napoleon Bonaparte. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Napoleon was once set upon by hundreds of rabbits during a hunt and needed to flee in a carriage just to get away. Everything I…

  • Isabella by Kirstin Downey

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Isabella: She did more than just tell Columbus to go sailing. Quick synopsis: A complete biography of Isabella I of Castile. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Yes, that Isabella. 1492, Columbus and all that. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Isabella was truly a badass woman both for good and bad.…

  • Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Blood & Ivy: Murrrrrderrrrrr at Haaaaaaavaaaaad. Quick synopsis: The story of a murdered Harvard alum in 1849. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Most people don’t realize this, but surgeons often had a very hard time practicing their craft. Dead bodies for study were hard to come across and aspiring doctors…

  • Diamonds, Gold, and War by Martin Meredith

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Diamonds, Gold, and War: Boer, what’s it good for? Quick synopsis: The story of how South Africa went from a backwater British colony to one of the most sought-after prizes on earth. (Spoiler alert: It’s in the title, obviously.) Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Boer Wars have nothing to…

  • Absolute Monarchs by John Julius Norwich

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Absolute Monarchs: Popes behaving badly. Quick synopsis: It’s about the Pope. All of them. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Pope Stephen VI put Pope Formosus on trial. The catch? Formosus was dead for 7 months. They exhumed him and had him sit there during the trial. It’s called the Cadaver…

  • Last Man Off by Matt Lewis

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Last Man Off: This is why I didn’t join the navy. Quick synopsis: First person retelling of the sinking of the Sudur Havid, a fishing boat which sank near Antarctica. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When the Sudur Havid went fishing they put about 15,000 hooks in the water at…

  • Under a Flaming Sky by Daniel James Brown

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Under a Flaming Sky: Well I’m certainly going to be nice to Forest Rangers after reading this. Quick synopsis: The story of the 1894 firestorm in Hinckley, Minnesota which burned 350,000 acres in 5 hours and killed over 400 people. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Think it’s safe to jump…

  • God, War, and Providence by James Warren

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for God, War, and Providence: Massholes. Quick synopsis: A look at how Roger Williams and Rhode Island came to be and also how the other colonies (especially Massachusetts, they come off looking really bad) screwed over their Indian neighbors and tried to destroy Rhode Island. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When…

  • The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghosts of Eden Park: Prohibition was so stupid. Quick synopsis: The story of George Remus, a famous bootlegger who became famous for something else afterwards. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: George Remus was the “king of the bootleggers” and at one point owned one seventh of the bonded liquor…