Tag: American history
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The Midnight Assassin by Skip Hollandsworth
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline: The serial killer was mostly known as the Servant Girl Annihilator. Well then. Quick synopsis of The Midnight Assassin: The story of a serial killer in Austin, Texas between 1884 and 1885. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Servant Girl Annihilator preceded Jack the Ripper but was so close in timing…
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Contest for Liberty by Seanegan Sculley
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Contest for Liberty: We should have lost. Quick synopsis: A look at the American Revolution through how the U.S. military matured from the beginning to end of the war. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Inflation of U.S. currency was so bad by the end of the war that many veterans…
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The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Republic of Pirates: The English are the reason we can’t have nice things like a Pirate Republic. Quick synopsis: The story of how pirates tried to create their own society and the man who destroyed it. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Golden Age of Piracy was relatively short…
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This is a Robbery (Netflix)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for This is a Robbery: Editor wanted. Quick synopsis: The story of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft in 1990. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: This is the largest art heist in history. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The thieves stole wisely when they poached a few Rembrandts, Degas, and a…
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Crazy Not Insane (HBO)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Crazy Not Insane: Irony: Naming your documentary how it makes the viewer feel. Quick synopsis: A documentary about psychiatrist Dorothy Otnow Lewis. Or her theories. Or her thoughts on the death penalty. Honestly, I’m not sure what it was going for. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Dissociative identity disorder (DID),…
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The Book Was Better: Catch and Kill
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Catch and Kill: Movie producers are perverts? Who knew? Except literally everyone. Quick synopsis: The story of how Ronan Farrow took down Harvey Weinstein. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Ronan Farrow is also a lawyer and clearly an overachiever. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Weinstein actually reached out to Woody…
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Grant and Sherman by Charles Bracelen Flood
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grant and Sherman: The ultimate Civil War bromance. Quick synopsis: A look at the friendship between Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman and how it shaped the Civil War. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: One of the best quotes of all time: “Grant stood by me when I was…
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Lucky 666 by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Lucky 666: Sure, why not just build your own plane during World War II. Quick synopsis: The story of the Old 666, a B-17 bomber put together with scraps in Papua New Guinea in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The main event of the book is the…
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Val (Amazon)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Val: The Iceman shows his softer side. Quick synopsis: A video autobiography of actor Val Kilmer. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Val Kilmer went to Julliard and is the youngest person ever accepted into their drama school. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Kilmer didn’t want to be in Top Gun…