Tag: American history

  • Phantom Fleet by Alexander Rose

    Phantom Fleet by Alexander Rose

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Phantom Fleet: The Taking of U-505. Quick synopsis: The Battle of the Atlantic and the attempt to steal a German U-boat. Fact for Non-History People: The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest campaign of World War II. Fact for History Nerds: 3,500 Allied merchant ships were sunk during the Battle…

  • The Sailing of the Intrepid by Montel Williams and David Fisher

    The Sailing of the Intrepid by Montel Williams and David Fisher

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Sailing of the Intrepid: Old habits die hard. Quick synopsis: The story of how in 1944 the crew of the USS Intrepid used old school methods to make it home. Fact for Non-History People: Yes, that Montel Williams is the author. He is an Annapolis grad (Go Army!) and is…

  • Taking Midway by Martin Dugard

    Taking Midway by Martin Dugard

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Taking Midway: When reading the mail was so important. Quick synopsis: The story of Midway Island and the battle which turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific. Fact for Non-History People: The Japanese lost 3,000 personnel in comparison to the U.S.’s about 300. Fact for History Nerds: Midway…

  • Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

    Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Mark Twain: Let him write. Don’t let him business. Quick synopsis: A biography of iconic writer and terrible businessman, Mark Twain. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Twain served on the Confederate side in the Civil War although rather briefly. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is…

  • Strangers in the Land by Michael Luo

    Strangers in the Land by Michael Luo

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Strangers in the Land: It didn’t get better once the railroads were finished. Quick synopsis: The story of Chinese immigrants who came to America. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: It took seven weeks for news of the death of President Zachary Taylor to reach California. Fun Fact for History Nerds:…

  • Taking Manhattan by Russell Shorto

    Taking Manhattan by Russell Shorto

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Taking Manhattan: Business decisions made at cannon-point. Quick synopsis: The story of how New Amsterdam became New York. Fact for Non-History People: In 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, New York became New Orange when the Dutch retook it, but it was given up again in the treaty ending the war.…

  • The Fifteen by William Geroux

    The Fifteen by William Geroux

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Fifteen: A very one-sided trade proposal. Quick synopsis: The story of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Germany during World War II of soldiers facing the death penalty. Fact for Non-History People: There was approximately 400,000 German POWs in the U.S. during World War II. Fact for History Nerds:…

  • Boutwell by Jeffrey Boutwell

    Boutwell by Jeffrey Boutwell

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Boutwell: The dude behind the dude. Quick synopsis: The life of Civil War era politician, George Boutwell. Fact for Non-History People: During Reconstruction, President Grant only declared martial law once and it was in South Carolina. Fact for History Nerds: The number of slaves in the U.S. tripled between 1790 to…

  • Trespassers at the Golden Gate by Gary Krist

    Trespassers at the Golden Gate by Gary Krist

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A History of Trespassers at the Golden Gate: Live bold, die bold. Quick synopsis: The story of Gilded-Age San Francisco and a wild murder. Fact for Non-History People: San Francisco’s population was so young in the 1850s that the death of a 47-year-old carried the byline “Death of the Oldest Inhabitant…