Tag: American history
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In the Enemy’s House by Howard Blum
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for In the Enemy’s House: Spying sounds exhausting. Quick synopsis: An espionage story about breaking Russian code after WWII in an attempt to stop the leaking of nuclear secrets. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Military recruiters lying their asses off! Who knew? Not a bunch of women during World War II…
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Dannemora by Charles Gardner
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Dannemora: This was a hell of a lot more like Shawshank than I expected. Quick synopsis: The prison escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat from New York’s Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Seriously, it’s just like Shawshank! The two guys dug out of their…
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The Impeachers by Brenda Wineapple
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Impeachers: Worst. President. Ever. Quick synopsis: The story of the only ever impeachment of a sitting president, Andrew Johnson. Seriously, he sucked. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: By the end of Andrew Johnson’s term, both political parties hated him and wanted him to go away. This may also be…
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Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Killers of the Flower Moon: Damn, white people look really bad after reading this one. Quick synopsis: Investigation into the Osage Indian murders of the 1920s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Osage Indians in the 1920s were the richest people per capita in the world because they were settled…
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Random Musing: George Washington and Slavery
What’s this musing about: Washington and slavery. Warning: White guy giving his opinion on something to do with slavery. George Washington was in many ways a great man. He was beloved by the American people before there even was an “American people.” In multiple instances, he could have easily tried to become “king” of the…
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The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Radium Girls: This is why you shouldn’t eat radioactive materials. Quick synopsis: The story of the “Radium Girls.” Two groups of women who worked at plants painting materials with a mixture containing radium. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: File this under, “how can people be so stupid?” Radium was…
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Rampage by James M. Scott
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Rampage: You’ll cancel your hibachi reservation after reading this. Quick synopsis: Story of the battle of Manila in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Nothing “fun” about this subject matter. More people were killed in the Battle of Manila than in the Battle of Britain. Fun Fact for…
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The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The River of Doubt: I don’t recommend exploring uncharted tributaries of the Amazon. Quick synopsis: The story of when Teddy Roosevelt decided to take a vacation and explore a tributary of the Amazon. Didn’t go well. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Did you see the synopsis above? I am a…
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Saints & Strangers (TV Miniseries)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Saints & Strangers: You mean they used real American Indians to play American Indians? Get out of town. Quick synopsis: The story of the Mayflower passage through the first Thanksgiving and the establishment of the Plymouth colony. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: You know Squanto, but you don’t know Hobbomock.…