Cabinet of Curiosities

Cabinet of Curiosities is the name of a podcast created, hosted and produced by Aaron Mahnke. The podcast has been around since 2018 and at this point has over 600 episodes available. It specializes in short episodes - most come in at around (or under) 10 minutes. Each episode features two true short stories taken from history and told is such a way as to keep you guessing until the very end.

In his new book Mahnke has taken over 150 of the true short stories from his podcast and brought them to the printed page. When I say short stories, I actually mean VERY short stories. Most of these are a page and a half or so, not much longer than my usual book review.

The stories are all structured pretty much the same way. First there’s The Setup, where the facts are laid out but a few key pieces of information are held back. Could be that the main character’s name isn’t fully revealed - maybe just a first name or a nickname. The setup will include some “curious” bits - something to make you wonder, something to make you go “hmm”. Then comes The Reveal. The main character’s name is revealed, or a plot twist you didn’t see coming happens. The Reveal is usually accompanied by some sort of pun.

For the most part that structure yields entertaining and sometimes enlightening history quick hits. Every so often a story will end with a pun so bad that it’s good. These left me chucking and thinking I’d just been the victim of a history buff’s “Dad joke”. Which, honestly, is NOT a bad thing.

If you are a fan of history you may recognize what some of the stories are about very quickly. Others you may have never heard of.

So who is this book for? Well, if you’re a fan of the podcast the book is a no brainer. It would also make a good stocking stuffer for a friend or family member who likes history but is pressed for time and can’t really dive into a book length treatise on a particular topic in history. It would help if they are also fans of Dad jokes.

RATING: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐

RATING COMMENTS: Aaron Mahnke brings over 150 history quick hits from his long running podcast to the page. A good stocking stuffer for the history buff on your holiday gift list who also has a good sense of humor.

WHERE I GOT MY COPY: I read an advanced reviewer’s copy of the book provided by NetGalley and the publisher, St Martin’s Press. The book was published on November 12th.