Category Archives: Non-fiction – History

A Quick Review of Holly Tucker’s Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

Posted on May 9, 2016 by

This will need to be a brief review, as my newly-reconstituted work schedule requires me to go to bed early some nights, including tonight. But that’s OK – all I really need to tell you is that this book is … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Holly Tucker, Non-fiction - History, Nonfiction - General, Nonfiction - Science, Reviews by Bethany, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Hamiltome is Here!

Posted on May 6, 2016 by

THE HAMILTON SOUNDTRACK has been in my car’s CD player for 108 days. It arrived from Amazon on December 22, when I plucked it from the mailbox right before I went out to do one last round of Christmas shopping. … Continue reading →

Posted in Glimpses into Real Life, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, New Books That Have Clearly Been Treated With Some Chemical to Make Them Smell Old, Non-fiction - History, Nonfiction - General, Nonfiction - Music, Nonfiction - Theatre, THE HAMILTON SOUNDTRACK, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

A Review of Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

Posted on April 15, 2016 by

Can you imagine childhood without dinosaurs? I can’t. What did three year-olds do before there were books of dinosaurs to pour over? How did they learn to pronounce multisyllabic words in the absence of archaeopteryx, velociraptor, and tyrannosaurus? Were they … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Elizabeth Kolbert, Non-fiction - History, Nonfiction - Anthropology, Nonfiction - General, Nonfiction - Important Award Winners, Nonfiction - Science, Reviews by Bethany, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Final Thoughts on Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger’s Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History (by Bethany)

Posted on March 14, 2016 by

Once I was in a strip joint and needed to go to the bathroom. The thing is, strip joints don’t have women’s bathrooms – or this one didn’t, anyway. When I asked a staff member, he pointed me toward the … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, Non-fiction - History, Nonfiction - Cringeworthy Propaganda, Nonfiction - General, Nonfiction - Military, Reviews by Bethany, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Thoughts on the First Half of Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger’s Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War that Changed American History

Posted on March 6, 2016 by

I read almost nothing this weekend – just a few chapters of Henry and Clara and a few chapters of the book named above, which I’ve been reading off and on for about a week. I don’t have much to … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, Non-fiction - History, Nonfiction - Cringeworthy Propaganda, Nonfiction - General, Nonfiction - Military, Reviews by Bethany, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

‘Celia’s an Artful Little Slut’ (And Other Thoughts on the Founding Fathers)

Posted on February 22, 2016 by

I am reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton, albeit somewhat slowly, and I am trying to share my HAMILTON obsession with you in ways that are not derivative and cliché (you’re welcome), so today I’m here to tell you … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Non-fiction - History, Nonfiction - General, Nonfiction - Memoir/Biography, Reviews by Bethany, Ron Chernow, THE HAMILTON SOUNDTRACK, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

A Review of William Rosen’s Justinian’s Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman Empire (by Bethany)

Posted on January 29, 2016 by

This is the sort of history book I love – multidisciplinary, oriented around synthesis rather than analysis, and not afraid to go into detail about a sex act that a certain former empress of the Eastern Roman Empire liked to … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Glimpses into Real Life, Non-fiction - History, Nonfiction - General, Nonfiction - Science, Read-All-Day Friday, Reviews by Bethany, Uncategorized, William Rosen | Leave a comment