Michael Rank's Blog, page 14
July 21, 2014
HFM 079 – History’s Greatest Spies, Part 4: Nancy Wake (1912-2011): The “White Mouse” of the French Resistance
Nancy Wake was a World War II spy and saboteur who operated behind enemy lines to organize the French Resistance, helping soldiers and escaped prisoners flee the country. She was a high-society hostess-turned-decorated-war hero who led a guerrilla army of seven thousand men, blew up German supply depots and even killed a man with her bare hands. German intelligence dubbed her the “White Mouse” for her ability to elude capture. She may have looked like a Hollywood starlet, but between 1940 and 1943 she saved the lives of hundreds of Allied soldiers. Wake was the most decorated woman in World War II.
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July 14, 2014
HFM 078 – History’s Greatest Spies, Part 3: Richard Sorge (1895-1944) The Soviet Spymaster
Richard Sorge was a hard-drinking journalist and Nazi Party member, widely respected by the German embassy for his intuition of Japanese politics. By day he charmed German ambassadors in Tokyo and earning their trust to the point of accessing classified diplomatic intelligence. By night he worked as Russia’s most embedded spy and an officer in the Soviet foreign military intelligence service. Sorge’s reports of German-Japanese military plans were so valuable that he likely prevented the Soviet Union’s collapse during the war.
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July 6, 2014
HFM 077 – History’s Greatest Spies, Part 2: Mata Hari (1876-1917): World War One’s Sweetest Honeypot
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Mata Hari was Europe’s most famous exotic dancer and courtesan in pre-World War I times, sleeping with high society’s most important politicians and military officers. She was also a spy and honey pot in World War I. But was she a mastermind or caught in a game far beyond her ability?
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June 29, 2014
HFM 076 | History’s Greatest Spies, Part 1: Sir Francis Walsingham (1532-1590) On Her Majesty Elizabeth’s Secret Service
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Before James Bond had his M, Queen Elizabeth had her Francis Walsingham. Learn about the original spymaster, who uncovered multiple plots against Elizabeth in the 16th century and managed the extraordinary feat of preventing her assassination.
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June 23, 2014
HFM 075 | Ancient Peoples That Are Still Around Today, Part 2: The Greeks
Everyone knows the Greeks are important throughout history. But what is their secret for maintaining a language and culture for 3,000 years. It’s easier than you think — write books!
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June 19, 2014
I’m giving away free audiobooks of ‘Lost Civilizations’
I am giving away free copies of my new audiobook ‘Lost Civilizations.’ It was narrated by professional voice actor Kevin Stuart, and he did a great job. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter – the giveaway will run until June 27.
If you entered the contest but didn’t win, you can still get a free copy of the book with a 30-day free trial with Audible. Get it by clicking here.
June 16, 2014
HFM 074 | Ancient Peoples That Are Still Around Today, Part 1: The Chaldeans
What if you met somebody claiming to be from the Roman Empire? You would hopefully disbelieve their sanity. But the idea of a modern person with a direct connection to an ancient civilization isn’t all that far-fetched. Today we look at such a group today, the Chaldeans.
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June 9, 2014
HFM 073 | The Biggest Technological Advances of the Civil War
What do the telegraph, balloon surveillance, the submarine, land mines, machine guns, tin cans, and standard shoe sizes have in common? They became commonplace, thanks to the Civil War!
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June 2, 2014
HFM 072 | A Million Ways to Die in the Middle Ages
Think there are a million ways to die in the West? There are even more ways to die in the Middle Ages! They include, but are limited to, indigestion from eating an entire goose, being dragged 16 miles by a deer, and literally being crushed by a dwarf.
Here is a great post from medievalist.net that inspired this podcast: http://www.medievalists.net/2014/05/1...
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May 26, 2014
HFM 071 | What Archeology Tells us about Old Testament Jericho
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And the walls came tumbling down! Or did they? Today we step into the world of archeology and look at the evidence for and against the Biblical account of Israel’s conquest of the city of Jericho.
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