Tag: American history
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Cue the Sun! by Emily Nussbaum
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Cue the Sun!: Yeah, it was always kind of a mess. Quick synopsis: The history of reality TV. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Smoking Gun website took off when it first posted information about a lawsuit related to Fox’s Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?. Fun Fact for History…
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When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Turns out women know how to sell to other women. Who knew?! Quick synopsis: The story of the women who ran department stores in the mid-1900s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Department stores used to have nurseries so the kids wouldn’t ruin a great shopping…
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Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult (Netflix)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Dancing for the Devil: Now we really need to outlaw TikTok. Quick synopsis: The story of a cult which gained prominence as a studio for TikTok dancers. Fact for Non-History People: TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally. Fact for History Nerds: There are over 915.9 million posts on…
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There Is No Ethan by Anna Akbari
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for There Is No Ethan: This is a “read in one sitting” book. Quick synopsis: The bonkers story of a catfish and the women who brought them down. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: There was a guy on OkCupid called the “Swiss Cheese Pervert” and he’s exactly what you think he…
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College Girl, Missing by Shawn Cohen
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for College Girl, Missing: That’s it. My kid is not going to college. Quick synopsis: The story of the disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Speirer in 2011. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: I’ve been very drunk at Indiana University before. So, there’s that. Fun Fact for History Nerds: California has…
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The Infernal Machine by Steven Johnson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Infernal Machine: This book is explosive! (I’m so sorry, I’ll see myself out.) Quick synopsis: A story about dynamite, anarchists, and the evolution of policing in New York City. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Owen Eagen was the only (what we would now call) bomb disposal personnel working with…
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Challenger by Adam Higginbotham
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Challenger: It was a question of when, not if. Quick synopsis: The story of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: When Neil Armstrong first stepped foot on the moon in 1969, an estimated 600 million people were watching. Fun Fact for History Nerds: It…
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Throne of Grace by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Throne of Grace: Life without a map. Quick synopsis: The story of one of America’s forgotten explorers, Jedediah Smith. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Arithmetic used to be called ciphering in schools. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Between 1700 and 1822, European markets purchased nearly forty million pieces of beaver…
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The Great Abolitionist by Stephen Puleo
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Great Abolitionist: Who would have thought slavery proponents could be so violent? Quick synopsis: The life of ardent American abolitionist and senator, Charles Sumner. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: While I don’t condone caning someone, it turns out Sumner did mock a colleague who just had a stroke during…