Tag: American history
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Becoming the Ex-Wife by Marsha Gordon
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Becoming the Ex-Wife: Best thing that ever happened to her. Quick synopsis: The story of author Ursula Parrott who popularized the term “ex-wife.” Fact for Non-History People: A 1930s study found that 94% of women believed divorce should be the solution for an unhappy marriage but only 54% approved if there…
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Ira Hayes by Tom Holm
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ira Hayes: An example of someone who never wanted the limelight. Quick synopsis: The story of Ira Hayes, one of the marines to raise the American Flag at Iwo Jima. Fact for Non-History People: We didn’t have the right names of the men who raised the flag until 2019. Fact for…
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The Tao of the Backup Catcher by Tim Brown with Erik Kratz
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Tao of the Backup Catcher: It better be a good Tao because this job is rough. Quick synopsis: The story of Erik Kratz and the life of a career backup catcher in Major League Baseball. Fact for Non-History People: 60% of players who get one day as a major leaguer…
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Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Peter Moore
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Not everyone loved Benjamin Franklin. Quick synopsis: The story of how the phrase, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” came to be in American culture. Fact for Non-History People: 12 of the original colonies voted yes on the Declaration of Independence on July…
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Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus by H.H. Leonards
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Rosa Parks Beyond the Bus: She didn’t just disappear after the bus incident. Quick synopsis: The story of Rosa Parks and her relationship with museum owner, H.H. Leonards. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Rosa Parks was a supporter of the Black Panthers. Fun Fact for History Nerds: H.H. Leonards started…
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Flash Point by Christy Warren
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Flash Point: Fire ended up being the least of her worries. Quick synopsis: The story of paramedic and firefighter Christy Warren and her battle with PTSD. Fact for Non-History People: 5% of all career firefighters are women. Fact for History Nerds: If an ambulance has an EMT and a paramedic on…
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A Madman’s Will by Gregory May
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Madman’s Will: He screwed up the best thing he ever did. Quick synopsis: The story of the 383 manumitted slaves of John Randolph. Fact for Non-History People: After 1806, Virginia required freed slaves to leave the area within one year because God forbid they start spreading that whole “freedom” idea…
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Leyte Gulf by Mark Stille
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Leyte Gulf: The final navy smackdown. Quick synopsis: A look at the battle of Leyte Gulf which effectively ended Japanese naval power in World War II. Fun Fact for Non-History People: This is the largest naval battle in history. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The Japanese navy was so short on…
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A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Mystery of Mysteries: Poe was funnier than you think. Also, a bit of a jerk. Quick synopsis: A look at the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe. Fun Fact for Non-History People: Poe married his cousin when he was 26 and she was 13. Yeah, try and forget that…