Tag: American history

  • Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Blood & Ivy: Murrrrrderrrrrr at Haaaaaaavaaaaad. Quick synopsis: The story of a murdered Harvard alum in 1849. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Most people don’t realize this, but surgeons often had a very hard time practicing their craft. Dead bodies for study were hard to come across and aspiring doctors…

  • The Dream Season 1: Podcast Review

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Dream: Prepare for a different perspective of a lot of people in your Facebook feed. Quick synopsis: A look into what multi-level marketing (MLM) is and why it can literally ruin people’s lives. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: You have seen MLMs all over the place. Most likely, you’ve…

  • High Score (Netflix)

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for High Score: One word – Nerdgasm. Quick synopsis: A documentary which illuminates us all on how video games came to be. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The aliens in Space Invaders are actually sea creatures set to pixilation. Go look. I’ll wait. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Nintendo wasn’t a…

  • Under a Flaming Sky by Daniel James Brown

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Under a Flaming Sky: Well I’m certainly going to be nice to Forest Rangers after reading this. Quick synopsis: The story of the 1894 firestorm in Hinckley, Minnesota which burned 350,000 acres in 5 hours and killed over 400 people. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Think it’s safe to jump…

  • God, War, and Providence by James Warren

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for God, War, and Providence: Massholes. Quick synopsis: A look at how Roger Williams and Rhode Island came to be and also how the other colonies (especially Massachusetts, they come off looking really bad) screwed over their Indian neighbors and tried to destroy Rhode Island. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When…

  • The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghosts of Eden Park: Prohibition was so stupid. Quick synopsis: The story of George Remus, a famous bootlegger who became famous for something else afterwards. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: George Remus was the “king of the bootleggers” and at one point owned one seventh of the bonded liquor…

  • 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…

  • Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (Netflix)

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich: I needed a shower after this. Quick synopsis: The story of Jeffrey Epstein and yeah we all know who he is. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Dude got murdered. Fun Fact for History Nerds: See previous fact. MUR-DURRRRRED. My Take on Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich: I’m…