Tag: World history

  • Adventures in Volcanoland by Tamsin Mather

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Adventures in Volcanoland: Big mountain go boom sometimes. Quick synopsis: A science travelogue by a seasoned volcanologist. Fact for Non-History People: The continents move at about the same rate of toenail growth. Fact for History Nerds: Radium is a million times more radioactive than uranium. My Take on Adventures in Volcanoland:…

  • A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World by José Luis González Macías

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World: Long title, short book, tons of fun! Quick synopsis: A look at lighthouses…at the end of the world. So, the title, basically. Fact for Non-History People: The first lighthouse was of course Egypt’s Pharos of Alexandria, better know as…

  • Twenty Years by Sune Engel Rasmussen

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Twenty Years: Plenty of rage to go around. Quick synopsis: A look at the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of various Afghans. Fact for Non-History People: In the 1980s, Afghans in Iran and Pakistan made up nearly half of the world’s population of refugees. Fact for History Nerds: The U.S.…

  • The Horse by Timothy Winegard

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Horse: Because without them, we’d have to walk. Like suckers. Quick synopsis: The story of the horse. Yes, the whole story. Fact for Non-History People: 99.99 percent of all species that have ever existed are extinct. Fact for History Nerds: Horses have been used in war for over 5,000 years.…

  • Alexander at the End of the World by Rachel Kousser

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Alexander at the End of the World: Bro did not know when to go home. Quick synopsis: The story of Alexander the Great’s final 7 years. Fact for Non-History People: Alexander was never defeated in battle. Fact for History Nerds: Alexander named over 70 cities after himself. Self-obsessed much? Am I…

  • Kinky History by Esmé Louise James

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Kinky History: It’s history. But sexy. Quick synopsis: A look at the history of sex and how humans talked about it. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Seriously, go back and read Shakespeare. Dude was filthy. Fun Fact for History Nerds: James Joyce wrote many things to his wife about her……

  • Taking London by Martin Dugard

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Taking London: Sometimes it takes an island. Quick synopsis: The story of the Battle of Britain through the eyes of four Allied pilots. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: The Nazi Party grew from just a small movement in 1920 to about 400,000 people by World War II. Fun Fact for…

  • When the Sea Came Alive by Garrett Graff

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for When the Sea Came Alive: D-Day in their own words. Quick synopsis: On oral history of D-Day from various records of the people who lived it. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Nearly 133,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day. Fun Fact for History Nerds: By June 30th, over 850,000 men, 148,000…

  • Paradise of the Damned by Keith Thomson

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Paradise of the Damned: Europeans loved falling for the old “city of gold” trick. Quick synopsis: The story of Sir Walter Raleigh’s obsession with El Dorado. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Columbus’s first voyage covered 3,700 miles in 36 days of sailing. Fun Fact for History Nerds: The Orinoco River…