Tag: European history
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Agent Josephine by Damien Lewis
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Agent Josephine: Celebrities can work for the greater good! Quick synopsis: The untold story of how entertainer Josephine Baker was also a French spy in World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: A list of animals Josephine took with her nearly everywhere: a Great Dane, monkey, golden lion tamarin,…
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The Black Joke by A. E. Rooks
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Black Joke: If you can’t beat them, steal their ship and then beat them. Quick synopsis: A story of a slave ship turned freedom ship off the coast of Africa in the 1800s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: A quarter of all the freed enslaved people were courtesy of…
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The Pope at War by David Kertzer
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Pope at War: I’m going to skip Mass this week. Quick synopsis: The story of Pope Pius XII during World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like #1: The Nazis took over 1,000 Jews from Rome during World War II. Only 16 survived. Fun Fact for History Nerds #2:…
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Black Flags, Blue Waters by Eric Jay Dolin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Black Flags, Blue Waters: The English are the reason we can’t have nice things like a Pirate Republic. Quick synopsis: An overview of piracy in the Americas. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Blackbeard was actually one of the least violent popular pirates. He used theatrics (like lighting fuses and sticking…
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Hitler’s Boy Soldiers by Helene Munson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hitler’s Boy Soldiers: Just when you thought the Nazis couldn’t get any worse. Quick synopsis: The story of how Hitler and the Nazis indoctrinated young men even before World War II. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: What was a good exercise for these young men? Manning anti-aircraft guns! Yes, really!…
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The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Dark Queens: Game of Thrones only real. Less dragons, obviously. Quick synopsis: The story of Queens Brunhild and Fredegund who were trying to kill each other for decades while ruling their kingdoms. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Vikings wearing horned helmets? Not a thing. Someone made it up…
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Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit Fox
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Conan Doyle for the Defense: Need to get out of jail? Just get the most famous detective writer ever! Quick synopsis: The story of how Arthur Conan Doyle (who wrote Sherlock Holmes) helped secure the release of wrongly convicted Oscar Slater. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: After Pearl Harbor, Life…
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The Moors Murderers by Chris Cook
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Moors Murderers: Yeah, no one should have been shocked when these two got arrested. Quick synopsis: The story of the child killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in the 1960s. Fun Fact for Non-History People Will Like: There were quite a few early indicators Ian Brady was a psychopath. Punching…
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The Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons by Paul Hill
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons: Who would have thought writing stuff down would make such a difference. Quick synopsis: The story of England around the time of Alfred the Great. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Alfred the Great kept a third of his revenues to provide gifts to visiting dignitaries…