Tag: civil war
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Grant by Ron Chernow
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grant: When is Lin-Manuel Miranda going to make a musical out of this? Quick synopsis: A (very) in depth biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Battle of Shiloh had more casualties than the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War combined. Gettysburg…
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Grant by William S. McFeely
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grant: This book is one of the reasons to hate the 80s. Quick synopsis: A terrible biography of U.S. Grant. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: This terrible book won the Pulitzer Prize. It annoys me to no end. Fun Fact for History Nerds: This book is an example of an…
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The Zealot and the Emancipator by H.W. Brands
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Zealot and the Emancipator: The Civil War era was crazy. Glad politics got so much better since then. Quick synopsis: A dual biography of John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: John Brown was seriously deranged, and we all are pretty clear about that today. But…
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Commander Will Cushing by Jaime Malanowski
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Commander Will Cushing: This mofo was CRAZY! Quick synopsis: A biography of Commander William Cushing with a major focus on his bonkers actions in the military during the Civil War. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Cushing was basically an action movie hero. The big event in his life was during…
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The Promise of the Grand Canyon by John Ross
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Promise of the Grand Canyon: A lot of heartache just to explore a big hole. Quick synopsis: A partial biography of John Wesley Powell focused on his exploration of little-known parts of the Grand Canyon. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: John Wesley Powell took on a crazy exploration of…
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The Unexpected President by Scott Greenberg
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Unexpected President: May be the last time a politician pulled a sincere 180. Quick synopsis: The life of President Chester A. Arthur. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Arthur had fresh flowers placed at the portrait of his deceased wife every day he was president. He never remarried. Fun Fact…
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Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Midnight Rising: John Brown was a nutjob. A well meaning nutjob, but a nutjob. Quick synopsis: The story of John Brown’s Raid on the Harper’s Ferry Arsenal before the Civil War. It went poorly. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: John Wilkes Booth was at John Brown’s execution. Fun Fact for…
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Grant (History Channel)
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Grant: I’m a big fan too, but this borders on hero worship. Quick synopsis: The life of Ulysses S. Grant, mostly focused on his Civil War exploits. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Grant was actually gifted a slave by his in-laws. When he was nearly broke (which was constantly), he…
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Freedom’s Detective by Charles Lane
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Freedom’s Detective: Even criminals hated the KKK. Quick synopsis: The life of Hiram C. Whitley, one of the earliest leaders of the Secret Service and renowned KKK detective. He was also a criminal. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Why does the President have the ability to pardon criminals? It was…