Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • Lost Paradise by Kathy Marks

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lost Paradise: These people make the Tiger King look downright classy. Quick synopsis: A short history of the people of Pitcairn Island with a specific focus on the sexual assault trials of 2004. It is all really gross. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The people of Pitcairn Island are the…

  • The Last Duel by Eric Jager

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Last Duel: This is why we have lawyers. Quick synopsis: The story of the last trial by combat in France in 1386. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are set to write and act in the movie version of this book. That is all the…

  • Brilliant Beacons by Eric Jay Dolin

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Brilliant Beacons: I have nothing snarky for this one. Lighthouses are awesome. Quick synopsis: A comprehensive history of the American lighthouse. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: A Fresnel lens can be seen 20 miles out to sea. It may not seem like very far to you, but if you are…

  • The Phantom Killer by James Presley

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Phantom Killer: Another win for the press with cool serial killer names. Quick synopsis: A true crime story from 1946. The Phantom Killer murdered 5 people and assaulted 3 more in Texarkana, Texas. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Texas Rangers were so frazzled by this guy that they…

  • A Dune Adrift by Marq De Villiers and Sheila Hirtle

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Dune Adrift: The island is literally moving as we speak. Quick synopsis: The history of Sable Island off the coast of Canada. Yes, it is more interesting than it sounds! Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Sable Island is home to at least 350 shipwrecks. It’s also home to 500…

  • Island of the Lost by Joan Druett

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Island of the Lost: Seriously, stories like this are why I didn’t go in the navy. Quick synopsis: The story of the shipwreck of the Grafton on the Auckland Islands in 1864. Oh, it’s also the story of the shipwreck of the Invercauld on those same islands just a few months…

  • The Nuns of Sant’Ambrogio by Hubert Wolf

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Nuns of Sant’Ambrogio: Lesbian nuns. Don’t give me a dirty look. It’s literally true.  Quick synopsis: It’s 1858 at a convent in Rome. Stuff is about to go down.  Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Lesbian nuns. Am I appealing to the lowest common denominator? Yes. It’s still true.  Fun…

  • Grand Avenues by Scott Berg

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grand Avenues: This is why Washington, D.C. traffic sucks. Quick synopsis: The story of Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s efforts to plan out Washington, D.C. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: L’Enfant got hired to plan D.C. and got fired before completing it because of bureaucracy. Yes, D.C.’s problems preceded D.C. itself! Fun…

  • The Forgotten Storm by Wallace Akin

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Forgotten Storm: I’m never living in Tornado Alley. Quick synopsis: The story of the Tri-State Tornado of 1925. It is the deadliest tornado in US history. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The author of this book was in the tornado. In fact, he was in his house. Which the…