The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody [Hardcover]

Will Cuppy (Author), Fred Feldkamp (Editor), William Steig (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002

The Classic book from author and humorist Will Cuppy transforms well known figures from history into human beings, showing them to be foolish, fallible, and so much our very common ancestors. Included are profiles of such historical figures as Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, Lady Godiva plus many more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Will Cuppy wrote a weekly column of reviews of mystery books for the New York Herald Tribune and various freelance journalism for other newspapers and magazines. His other books include How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes (1931), How to Get from January to December and how to become Extinct. He died in 1949. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: MetroBooks (NY) (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586637339
• ISBN-13: 978-1586637330
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,389,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There has never been a funnier book on history, May 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (Paperback)

WIll Cuppy's book has more laugh-inducing material per square inch than any other book on history, easily putting much better-known books (like those of Armour) in the shade. Mr. Cuppy is the most under-rated of all American writers in this century, because he wrote humor, and especially because so much of his humor is dry and requires a little thought on the part of the reader. (This last requirement doubtless is fatal for the sales and popularity of any book.) Will Cuppy's secret was to read ABSOLUTELY everything on a subject, known and obscure, and then write an essay of 1 to 5 pages about it. He knew how to skewer pretension, academic pedantry, and indeed all the excesses of the academic community better than any other writer. While he was at it, he also had great skill at exposing the foibles of his famous subjects. Like any humorist, he does not bat 1000, but when he hits, he is as funny as anybody else has even been.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Know your history, April 23, 2002

By 

Amazonbombshell (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (Paperback)

This book is a scream, but I caution you: know your history before you pick it up and take it all for fact. The author makes free use of dubious sources for many of the people he writes about, but he does give a general historical overview of each person AND he is VERY funny. This is a good book for reading aloud to a friend or family member. (Again, though, it helps if the person to whom you are reading is also fairly well versed in history.)

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History Nerds Will Worship, Others Will Sit and Giggle Madly, November 16, 2001

By 

Karina (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (Paperback)

This is a fantastic book for anyone who enjoys, educated humor. Since history is my passion, I've found this book -- accurate, entertaining, and sharply witty -- to be a wonderful method of reflecting on serious courses in a different light. And yet those who dislike history lessons can expect to enjoy this too, from what I've heard. (Plebeians. ::cough::)

For those with a good sense of irony, sarcasm, and very dry humor, Willy Cuppy's comments (and the funny, tangential runoff of his writing, found in the footnotes of every page) feel almost tailor-made. There's a sense of very personal humor, as though you're party to a running monologue with this writer, in some warm room somewhere with burnished leather easy chairs.
It's just sad Cuppy didn't get the acclaim he deserved within his lifetime.