Tag: World history
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Carthage by Eve MacDonald
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Carthage: For the Rome haters. Quick synopsis: The story of ancient Carthage. Fact for Non-History People: Carthage had 37 km of massive defensive walls. Fact for History Nerds: Carthage created an artificial harbor which could hold 220 warships. My Take on Carthage: I am notorious (if anyone cared that is) for…
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The Spy in the Archive by Gordon Corera
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Spy in the Archive: It ain’t sexy, but it’ll do. Quick synopsis: The story of a KGB agent who pulls off the strangest espionage mission I’ve ever seen. Fact for Non-History People: Russian spying peaked in the 1980s with an estimated 100,000 communist spies in Western nations. Fact for History…
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Seven Rivers by Vanessa Taylor
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Seven Rivers: Some are more annoying than others. Quick synopsis: A look at seven rivers (Nile, Danube, Niger, Mississippi, Ganges, Yangtze and the Thames) and their impact on human history. Fact for Non-History People: The largest/longest river in the world is the Nile, but the Amazon is the largest by volume.…
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The Whiskey Bible by Noah Rothbaum
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Whiskey Bible: Booze be thy name. Quick synopsis: Everything you need to know about whiskey. Duh. Fact for Non-History People: Both whiskey and whisky are correct. Fact for History Nerds: The most expensive whiskey in the world is The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926, with one bottle selling for $2.7 million.…
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The Breath of the Gods by Simon Winchester
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Breath of the Gods: The wind is kinda creepy when you think about it too long. Quick synopsis: The history of the wind. Yes, you read that correctly. Fact for Non-History People: Mount Washington, New Hampshire is one of the windiest places ever and until recently held the record for…
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The Zorg by Siddharth Kara
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Zorg: A historical horror story. Quick synopsis: The story of the slave ship which ignited the abolition movement. Fact for Non-History People: Netting was attached to slave ships to keep Africans from trying to drown themselves. Fact for History Nerds: Liverpool, England was responsible for 82% of all slaves trafficked…
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Useless Etymology by Jess Zafarris
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Useless Etymology: Useless, but fun! Quick synopsis: The wild and wonderful history of English words. Fact for Non-History People: “Hello” didn’t become a standard greeting until 1876. Fact for History Nerds: “Factoid” used to mean “fake news” basically. Now it means fun fact. Life is weird. My Take on Useless Etymology:…
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Ghosted by Alice Vernon
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ghosted: Quick synopsis: A look at the history of ghost hunting including the charlatans and the unbelievers. Fact for Non-History People: A Gallup poll in 2005 of 1,000 found that 73% believed in some kind of paranormal activity. Fact for History Nerds: 32% of those people believed in ghosts, specifically. …
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Freedom Ship by Marcus Rediker
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Freedom Ship: If you can’t run, sail. Quick synopsis: A look at the Underground Railroad but from a maritime perspective. Fact for Non-History People: If you broke the original Fugitive Slave Law, you might get a fine of around $15,000 in today’s dollars. Later, the penalties increased a lot. Fact for…