Tag: History

Cover for Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson

Review: Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson

June 30, 2023

As someone who has read quite a lot of books on ancient Egypt, I was extremely surprised that I had never heard of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt before I saw this book. Christiane was a remarkable woman with an extremely rich career. Her extraordinary contributions to Egyptology, the Louvre, and the world are astounding.  “You don’t get … More Review: Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson

Cover for The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland

Review: The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

May 18, 2023

Trigger Warnings: graphic death; genocide; torture; physical abuse; starvation; PTSD; survivor’s guilt; infanticide; cheating; alcohol use; paranoia; abusive relationship; suicide of a child; cancer;  “Information is necessary, to be sure, but it is never sufficient. Information must also be believed…Only when information is combined with belief does it become knowledge, and only knowledge leads to … More Review: The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

Cover for The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris

ARC Review: The Facemaker: One Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris

June 7, 2022

The Facemaker tells the story of pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Delf Gillies, who dedicated his life to reconstructing the faces of injured soldiers in his care during World War I. After reading The Butchering Art, Fizharris’ first book, I knew that I would want to read any future books that she wrote. This book surpassed … More ARC Review: The Facemaker: One Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris

Cover for The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

Review: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

April 1, 2022

This was a fascinating and very comprehensive look at the history of dinosaurs. Brusatte starts from the Early Triassic period, roughly 250 million years ago, all the way to the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago, when a giant meteor struck the earth.  Like any child of the 90s, I grew up watching Jurassic Park … More Review: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

Cover for Coal Country by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

Review: Coal Country by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

March 18, 2022

As a West Virginian I remember this disaster and the trial that occurred afterwards. I picked this up because it included interviews with the families BUT the voices you hear are not the actual family members but voice actors.  I have mixed feelings about this audiobook. The interview portions were very emotional and captured the … More Review: Coal Country by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen

Cover for The National Parks by Falynn Koch

ARC Review: History Comics: The National Parks: Preserving America’s Wild Places by Falynn Koch

February 24, 2022

This was an informative graphic novel that takes us through the history of national parks, with Bigfoot as the narrator. It starts with the creation of the very first national park, Yellowstone, and leads to the creation of the National Park Service (NPS).  I enjoyed this graphic novel but it was a bit chaotic at … More ARC Review: History Comics: The National Parks: Preserving America’s Wild Places by Falynn Koch

Cover for How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith

Review: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

February 14, 2022

“The history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it. It is not irrelevant to our contemporary society; it created it. This history is in our soil, it is in our policies, and it must, too, be in our memories.” Clint Smith … More Review: How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

Cover for The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean

Review: The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds by Sam Kean

February 3, 2022

Trigger Warnings: suicide, slavery, animal torture and death, Nazi experimentation and torture, experimental misconduct, miscarriages, forced impregnation and abortion, murder, torture, grave robbing, lobotomization, mental health, intentional infection of diseases, psychological experiments, electric chair deaths,  “But when we sacrifice morals for scientific progress, we often end up with neither.” The Icepick Surgeon exposes the crimes … More Review: The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds by Sam Kean

Cover for A Taste of Poison by Neil Bradbury

ARC Review: A Taste of Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury

February 1, 2022

Poison is one of the oldest and most popular weapons of choice when it comes to murder. This book provides us with an in-depth look at how eleven poisons are used to kill, what it does to the body, and how that poison is created.  This book was quite fascinating. The book covers eleven poisons: … More ARC Review: A Taste of Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury

Cover for Migraine: Inside A World of Invisible Pain by Maria Konnikova

Review: Migraine: Inside A World of Invisible Pain by Maria Konnikova

January 26, 2022

“I feel guilty about even thinking about attending to myself. You power through, not because you aren’t in pain, but because it’s the only option. Because you’ll be met with a complete lack of understanding if you don’t.” While this is a very short delve into Migraines, it is very impactful and informative. Maria Konnikova … More Review: Migraine: Inside A World of Invisible Pain by Maria Konnikova

Cover for 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb

Review: 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb

January 21, 2022

Frances Glessner Lee is influential in the development of forensic science in the United States. She helped establish the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard, endowed the Magrath Library of Legal Medicine, became the first female police captain in the U.S., and created 20 true crime scene dioramas in dollhouse scale that are referred to … More Review: 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb