Tag: World history
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1873 by Liaquat Ahamed
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for 1873: The depression before the depression. Quick synopsis: The story of the worldwide crash and depression of 1873. Fact for Non-History People: The crash bankrupted 89 out of 364 U.S. railroads. Fact for History Nerds: The crash was initially called the Great Depression but when 1929 surpassed it, it was then…
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Self-Help from the Middle Ages by Peter Jones
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Self-Help from the Middle Ages: Poor people couldn’t turn to Instagram to fix their lives. Quick synopsis: A look at psychological thought in a time period you wouldn’t expect. Fact for Non-History People: The Seven Deadly Sins were used as an early diagnostic tool. Fact for History Nerds: Catholic confession could…
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The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Black Death: The ultimate equalizer. Quick synopsis: A look at the most devastating plague in human history. Fact for Non-History People: There are still 1,000 to 2,000 cases of plague reported each year. Fact for History Nerds: People who lived through it didn’t call it the Black Death. They called…
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The Long Run by Martin Dugard
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Long Run: Much easier to read this than actually run. Quick synopsis: The story of the marathon and the worldwide running boom. Fact for Non-History People: The marathon distance wasn’t officially standardized at 26.2 miles until 1921. It was very complicated before that. Fact for History Nerds: The fastest official…
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Athens and Sparta by Adrian Goldsworthy
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Athens and Sparta: THIS! IS! Well, Athens and Sparta. Not just the one. Quick synopsis: The story of the ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. Fact for Non-History People: At its peak, Athens had a population of 250,000 – 300,000 people. Fact for History Nerds: Sparta had two hereditary kings…
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Hammer of the Gods by Don Hollway
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Hammer of the Gods: Have hammer. Will travel. Quick synopsis: The story of King Olaf and his conquests. Fact for Non-History People: Olaf attacked England which was ruled at that time by Aethelred the Unready. Aethelred later became Olaf’s godfather because that’s how they rolled back then. Fact for History Nerds:…
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Seven Sisters by Veronica Buckley
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Seven Sisters: Maria Theresa didn’t raise wallflowers. Quick synopsis: The story of the seven surviving daughters of Empress Maria Theresa. Fact for Non-History People: Maria Theresa had 16 children in total but only 10 survived to adulthood. Fact for History Nerds: Maria Theresa is the only woman to hold the title…
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Small Earthquakes by Shafik Meghi
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Small Earthquakes: Not everyone forgot. Quick synopsis: A look at the forgotten connections of Great Britain and South America. Fact for Non-History People: The 1982 Falklands War was a 74-day undeclared war. Fact for History Nerds: Valparaiso, Chile was known as the “Jewel of the Pacific” in the 19th century. My…
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Heiresses by Miranda Kaufmann
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Heiresses: You don’t even need to be there to be a terrible person. Quick synopsis: A look at the women who inherited Caribbean slaves. Fact for Non-History People: British enslavers were compensated over 20 million pounds when slavery was abolished. Fact for History Nerds: The debt I just mentioned wasn’t paid…