Category: Books/Museum Reviews
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Bone Valley by Gilbert King
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Bone Valley: When proving your innocence is the easy part. Quick synopsis: The story of Leo Schofield’s fight for exoneration in the murder of his wife. Fact for Non-History People: Since 1973, at least 200 death row inmates have been exonerated. Fact for History Nerds: On average, for every 8 people…
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1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for 1929: Everything is great! Then depression. Quick synopsis: The story of the beginning of the Great Depression. Fact for Non-History People: One of Calvin Coolidge’s sons died of sepsis from a blister he got playing tennis at the White House. Fact for History Nerds: A poll done after the 1932 election…
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The Zorg by Siddharth Kara
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Zorg: A historical horror story. Quick synopsis: The story of the slave ship which ignited the abolition movement. Fact for Non-History People: Netting was attached to slave ships to keep Africans from trying to drown themselves. Fact for History Nerds: Liverpool, England was responsible for 82% of all slaves trafficked…
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Useless Etymology by Jess Zafarris
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Useless Etymology: Useless, but fun! Quick synopsis: The wild and wonderful history of English words. Fact for Non-History People: “Hello” didn’t become a standard greeting until 1876. Fact for History Nerds: “Factoid” used to mean “fake news” basically. Now it means fun fact. Life is weird. My Take on Useless Etymology:…
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Race Against Terror by Jake Tapper
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Race Against Terror: Got the criminal — not sure about the court. Quick synopsis: The trial of Al-Qaeda terrorist, Spin Ghul, years after his murder of American soldiers in Afghanistan. Fact for Non-History People: At its height right before September 11th, 2001, Al-Qaeda had about 3,000 core members, but because of…
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Matisse at War by Christopher Gorham
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Matisse at War: A master caught in stasis. Quick synopsis: The story of the artist Henri Matisse during World War II. Fact for Non-History People: A bout of appendicitis in his 20s led to Matisse giving up a possible law career for art. Fact for History Nerds: His Odalisque couchée aux…
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The Gales of November by John Bacon
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Gales of November: If it’s November, don’t go on the Great Lakes. Quick synopsis: The story of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Fact for Non-History People: The Great Lakes hold 80% of North America’s freshwater and 20% of the entire world’s. Fact for History Nerds: Between 1875 and 1975,…
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Nemesis by Catherine Hanley
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Nemesis: Of course England’s greatest enemy is a Frenchman. Quick synopsis: The life of medieval French King Philip II aka Philip Augustus. Fact for Non-History People: During his reign, Philip doubled the size of the French royal domain. Fact for History Nerds: He was the first to order the streets of…
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Deadwood by Peter Cozzens
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Deadwood: Yup, better than the show (and I love the show). Quick synopsis: The story of the rise and fall of Deadwood. Fact for Non-History People: Within 5 months of the first gold strike in Deadwood, more than 200 buildings had been put up. Fact for History Nerds: The fabled “Dead…