Customer Reviews

The Mental Floss History of the World: An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization's Best Bits

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a fan of Mental Floss magazine, I hoped their book would bring some of the irreverent humor that the magazine is known for to the pages of history. I am not disappointed. The history of the world is a very wide subject to try and cover in one book, but the authors do a nice job in breaking the topic down into manageable chapters.

Chapters include some prehistory subject matter, ranging from the time our ancestors stood up to the time they started building cities and planting cereal crops. While written from an American perspective, the authors have tried to include South America, Africa, Australia, and China and the far east into the chapters to give the reader a good sense of what was going on in the world during a specific timeframe.

The text is fairly dense (there's a lot to read!) but it's sprinkled with shaded boxes with quotes and other related tidbits of information. One hilarious quote from King George III's diary reads "Nothing important happened today." Yeah, right.

Each chapter opens with "In a Nutshell," an overview of the era, and ends with a "By the Numbers" summary of factoids for history buffs. The book doesn't have to be read sequentially, so you can jump right into the Middle Ages or whatever time frame you are interested in. The book is aimed at adults but should be suitable for teens and pre-teens.

'The Mental Floss History of the World' is aptly subtitled "An Irreverent romp through civilization's best bits." For a paperback book of almost 400 pages, it necessarily is quite selective as to what is included and the degree of detail pursued. However, it seems accurate in its facts, does have a particular axe to grind to any degree, and tries to be a true history of the world: not another European- or American-centered history which masquerades as a world history book. The Olmecs, the Chinese, the Hindus, and other peoples are woven into the story of the world. From my perspective, this latter point makes it a corrective to the often inadequate coverage of the historical developments in East Asia, Africa, and South America in the histories that I had been exposed to during my education..
Obviously, this was not intended as a textbook, but simply an interesting and readable compilation of major historical developments that an intelligent reader might enjoy if that person is able to reconcile wry humor and history. In offering this little book, the publishers of Mental Floss continue the pattern set in their magazine. The reader is able to find out the facts about vomitoriums, the origins of cold cream, when tamales emerged, and who were the first opium runners (the English!).
This little history is light reading; but strongly recommended for people who can look on the lighter side of things. Solemn folks who shudder at the poppies of humor emerging in the landscape of the heath of seriousness should look elsewhere. For example, the plural of Ottoman is 'Ottomans', not 'Ottomen,' chastity belts were nonexistent at the time of the Crusades, and peasants are described as "serfs without turf." It's things like this in this book that leave me wanting to say, like Oliver Twist, "Please, Sir. May I have more?"
I am a little skeptical, however, about the possible linkage of the sixteenth century Mongol prince Barbar to Barbar the elephant of the children's books by Jean De Brunhoff.

Yet another wonderful product from mental_floss. Admittedly, I've enjoyed the mental_floss brand for some time now. This book gives me no reason to think otherwise, as it packages lots of nifty facts into a quirky, fun, readable format. I can even get my kids to enjoy parts of it. As with the other products, what separates mental_floss from other educational mediums is its ability to make learning fun.

If you're anything like me and you're a little too busy to read something from beginning to end in one sitting, this makes a nice compromise. Actually, I flew threw a lot of it after a few train-rides into work, and now I'm only hoping to find another book to keep me occupied for the next few train rides.

I am a huge fan of Mental Floss, which is hilarious. In addition, I highly enjoy Mental Floss presents In the Beginning: From Big Hair to the Big Bang, mental_floss presents a Mouthwatering Guide to the Origins of Everything and mental floss presents Instant Knowledge (Collins Gem) (Collins Gem) both of which are excellent stocking stuffers.

On first note, the book is very, very dense. Lots of words without pretty pictures with lots of sidebars throughout. I am not sure that the book is meant to be read from front to back - and I have never read any of their books like that - rather pick and choose what topics you want to read. However, it is arranged in chapters. The little sidebars provide tantalizing extra bits of info - like how a fire was used by Nero to persecute a local cult - the Christians. As someone who enjoys random, tantalizing bits of knowledge, it definitely has lots of juicy historical tidbits that at least in my case I found very interesting. While it did have a few OMG sections, I did not find it witty or overtly funny.

I would not necessarily recommend this to anyone that is not a fan of Mental Floss without first checking it out on a bookshelf. However, for the fans of random facts and Mental Floss, it is a no-brainer - not their best, but definitely packed with information.

How can I describe this book? Looking at the cover, The Mental Floss History of the World: An Irreverent Romp through Civilization's Best Bits appears to be an approach that the Monty Python writers might have taken on this subject, but there are no singing lumberjacks, there's no spam, and the loonies and upper-class twits here are real.

This is history for those who don't like the subject. Some might feel that this is like saying that the authors have taken a Reader's Digest approach to history, but that would be unfair. Still, this book covers about 60,000 years of history in 400+ pages, so there's going to be some condensation here.

But it's how authors Erik Sass and Steve Wiegand went about covering this span of time that make this such a good book. They have peppered each chapter with sidebars on various historical events, public figures and general trivia pertaining to the topic. The consistent style makes this a world history work in which one chapter is not necessarily dependent on having read a prior chapter and it is easy to find the quickest summary for a chapter's time period.

I started with the first chapter, as if it was a novel, but will admit to bouncing back in forth between the chapters, as if time-tripping through history in a very random fashion. Some chapters I've read through twice, and there's just one chapter that I have yet to read (don't ask), saving it for last.

While I was reading through this book for the first time, I let a friend who used to teach history at the high school level peruse my copy. In the first five minutes his reactions included:

1. "Whaaat?"
2. "You've got to be kidding!"
3. "Hmm, I didn't know that..."
4. "Can I borrow this whan you're finished with it?"

The book is divided into twelve chapters and a special appendix, each of which lists the topic:

1. Africa and After (60,000 BCE-1500 BCE)
2. Chaos and Control (1500 BCE-500 BCE)
3. Athens, Alexander and All That (500 BCE-0 BCE)
4. There's No Place Like Rome (Except China, Persia, India, Mexico, and Peru) (1 CE-500 CE)
5. The Not-Really-That-Dark (Unless You Lived in Europe) Ages (500-1000 CE)
6. The Fair-to-Middlin' Ages (Even If You Lived in Europe) (1000-1300 CE)
7. Renaissance, Anyone? (And How About Genocide and Slavery?) (1300-1575 CE)
8. War and Slavery (And, Uh, Enlightenment) (1575-1750)
9. The Age of Liberation, Fragmentation, Stagnation and Plain Ol' Nations (1750-1900)
10. The Empire Strikes Out (1900-1930)
11. To the Brink of the Abyss (1931-1962)
12. One World (1962-2007)
Appendix - Oh yeah, Canada

The authors have gathered information that is actually correct and factual. It can get slightly dry in places (remember, this is history), but that's not the norm. The book is well-written and the frequent sidebars help break it up a bit. There are quotes from historical characters scattered throughout the book, some which may be familiar, and others that might be new to you.

If you haven't gotten enough of Mental Floss' irreverent look at the world from this one, try mental floss presents Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits or Mental Floss presents In the Beginning: From Big Hair to the Big Bang, mental_floss presents a Mouthwatering Guide to the Origins of Everything. You can also subscribe to Mental Floss if you want a taste of geeky humor and frequent Irreverence in a regular magazine format.

Must state that "The Mental Floss History of the World" isn't a book for everyone, but if you aren't the slightest bit interested in history, then why in the world are you looking at this book, much less reading this review? The authors have done a surprisingly good job at presenting such a broad topic in such and entertaining fashion. This is a good book for history enthusiasts to round out their personal libraries, and if you know a history buff with a sense of humor, then this might be the perfect gift.

Mental Floss' History of the World fills the spot on your shelf next to "Don't Know Much About History" and (in my case at least) Lies My Teacher Told Me. It's a primer, an overview of the history you might have learned in school if you were paying attention (which I know you were not).

If you are reasonably well-read about world history you probably won't learn a huge amount that you didn't know; but the exceptions do make this worth owning. Every home library has a need for a book like this: an authority to turn to when your beer-bet shouting match is regarding when Asian silk first reached the mideast (1000 BCE in case you're wondering). (What do you mean, you don't have shouting matches over things like this? Mine does.)

Billed as "an irreverent romp though civilization's best bits," this is an enjoyable and educational book... but I'm not so sure it qualifies as "irreverent." Lighthearted? Not-boring? Interesting? The book you wish your high school history class used as a textbook? Sure. But despite a few fun sidebars (such as the origin of the name Caligula) and well crafted headlines ("Sparta: One Badass City-State"), most of the text is just, well, factual text. It's accurate and useful and a very good "Cliff's Notes" for those of us without a final exam to worry about... but it's mainly just text. If you want a history book that'll make you giggle, you'll have to order a copy of The Cartoon History of the Universe.

That's meant as "here's what to expect" more than criticism. I like this book, and I'm merrily working my way through it a chapter at a time. (A little goes a long way, here.) If you slept through your History class and want to catch up, and you want to be (gently) entertained while you do so, hitch your mouse over to the Buy Now button.

Confession time: history books generally make my eyes roll back in my head. But I love history, and always want to know more history. It's a conflict. Or it was, until this book appeared.

Staring in 60,000 BCE and romping forward to the present and beyond, History of the World examines wars, famines, conflicts, treaties, marriages... just about everything.

Pieces are done in short accessible bits. You can set the book down, then pick it up later for another installment of what feels like a great serial.

It's got cheat sheets to help you remember wars. It has fascinating number facts.

It's everything you wanted to know about history but were afraid to ask.

It's got a place of honor on my refernce shelf.

Like many other Mental Floss products, this has found a cozy home on my coffee table. I've been enjoying flipping through it and catching interesting tidbits while watching TV or a slow sporting event, just whenever I have a few minutes of down time.

I don't think I've ever gotten through a history of the world in my life, and they're not the kind of books that lend themselves to being read cover to cover - they mainly just take up a bunch of room on your bookshelf and make you look smart (and boring). This is very readable and gives you the stuff in history worth talking about. I give it two kings up.

This is my first experience with Mental Floss and I have to admit, I am pretty impressed. How do they know all this stuff? This book is crammed with (little known?) factoids and tidbits of history through the ages. A lot of this information is the same stuff I learned in college, but some of the more obscure (and hilarious too, I might add!) information is brand new to me. I've always loved history, even the dry, dull stuff....but this book makes history downright funny!

Also scattered throughout the book are quotes made by famous (and infamous!) people from history. I was familiar with some of the quotes, but most of them were new to me.

While this book is a fantastic reference to have, it doesn't do into too much depth on one particular subject. For example, if you are looking to find out everything you can about World War 1, you are better off purchasing a topic-specific book about that war. However, if you want just the basics about the war (and in this book, you can read the 50 cent version of what happened, or the $9.99 version of what happened!!) so you can understand it better, this book explains exactly what you need to know and it is explained clearly. It would be unrealistic to include every fact on every major (and minor) historical event in one book, but this particular book does a fantastic job of creating an easy-to-read general reference that is invaluable for anybody who is even slightly interested in the history of our world.

I love this book! I plan on using it as a springboard for my (homeschooled) daughter's history lessons. I am also planning on looking into other books that Mental Floss has to offer.

This book is an excellent look at the history of the world -- and the whole world, not just the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Western Europeans. You learn about what was going on around the globe all at the same time -- from the Maya of South America to the Xia Dynasty of China. And it's all told with a conversational, irreverent style that fans of Mental Floss the magazine are sure to recognize. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.