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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780552773966
ISBN: 0552773964
Label: Black Swan
Manufacturer: Black Swan
Number Of Pages: 592
Publication Date: May 05, 2008
Publisher: Black Swan
Studio: Black Swan

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Rating: - Great if you can get past the jokes!
I bought this book assuming that it would be a fairly humorous and fluffy take on history. I almost immediately put it down due to the stupid, obvious, dud jokes that litter every page. I had written it off entirely, but dipped back into it about a week later, and was surprised to find myself really enjoying the historical aspects of the book. There is an unwritten format to the whole thing, in which the author presents received history, then gives his own take on the situation, often with some recent ... Read More

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Rating: - Very, very funny
A fantastic book for anyone who has an interest in British history and has a sense of humour. If you already have at least a basic level of knowledge of any period of British history pre-1945 and are looking for a book which is an easy and light hearted read then this is for you. It is crammed full of comedy based upon Ancient and Roman Britain right up to WWII. The entire book is divided into small sections, on average I'd estimate about 2 pages each, which makes it perfect for quick snatches of humour ... Read More

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Rating: - Good substitute for fiction at bedtime
Though it claims to be witty, I'm afraid I can't add to the glowing reports of this book. This is not to say that it is an awful book, merely that I found it hard to engage with the style of John O'Farrell.
The reading is light and is a good a book to snuggle up in bed with as any, but I found the jokes were sometimes lacking and repetitive.
In terms of information I can't say that it was controversial to anything I have so far studied. It was hardly detailed but this is understandable with ... Read More

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Rating: - Ponderous text, predictable humour
Whilst the subject matter of this book (Britain's distant history - present day) is presented in a palatable way, the allegedly 'humorous' asides have made this read, at best, disappointing. I was prepared for this book to be witty (I've read some of John O'Farrell's other work), but not witty in such a pedestrian way - cheap predictable joke after cheap predictable joke. I expected better.

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Rating: - The best history book there is... I don't like history.
This book takes 2000 years of British (mostly English) history, and is sarcastic about it. What the TV show "Have I Got News For You" does for the last 7 days, this book does for two millennia (in 500 pages).

I've never seen the point of reading about history. Although people say that it's about learning important lessons from the past to benefit all our futures, to me it always seemed like a long list of pointless names and dates which formed some kind of list of what order things just happened ... Read More

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