Customer Reviews

The Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irresistible Compendium Of Catastrophes, Barbarities, Massacres And Mayhem From The Big Bang To The New Millennium

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Pessimist's Guide To History written by the late Stuart Flexner and his wife Doris is one of the best tongue in cheek accounts of the history of the world. The premise of this book is The universe began with a rude awakening, it only went downhill from that point.

Flexner points out all the cataclysmic events that have been recorded throughout history from manmade problems to natural disasters. He gives insight that if you think things are bad today, you are wrong, things have always been bad. There have always been hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and other things which have wiped out large portions of humankind. There have been various diseases which have literally wiped out towns way before AIDS was known. There have been real life monsters that would make Charlie Manson look like a boy scout. If you ever feel we are going to hell in a hand basket, read this book for comfort.

His writing style is so easy going that even if you have never read a history book before, he will make you glued to this book and want to search out other sources to get the complete dirt on all of these historical facts.

This is not your typical school history book. No one is put on a pedestal and glamorized for the sake of political correctness or national pride. He looked the truth of history in the eye and called it like he saw it.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially for high school students who do not show much interest in history. This book could be the boost they need.

One would expect to feel some guilt from reading this book, since I found myself being entertained by stories of terrible tragedies that happened to millions of people throughout history, but the authors tend to poke fun at the causes, not the victims, of such events. Another striking thing is that after a while, you feel like you're reading a book about general World History (unfortunately it often seems to go hand-in-hand with misery).

I was amused, yet angered at the human follies that lead to the majority of major disasters - stupid governments, big dumb ideas, racial bigotry, religious wars, etc.,. I also felt fortunate that I'm living in these relatively modern times. Certainly our world is still no stranger to tragedy, but at least modern cities are not in danger of burning down due to a knocked-over lantern or such.

After reading about the variety and volume of major natural disasters, one is amazed at just how little control people have over this world, even now, particularly after witnessing the recent, massively damaging Asian tsunami disaster.

The truly interesting, though tragic, parts of the book deal with man-made disasters; unfortunately, there are plenty of examples both small-scale (e.g. psychotic killers) and large-scale (e.g. psychotic governments). This is where the authors inject most of their wry humor, directed at history's monsters and idiots.

All in all, it may not be something to read while at the beach with the family, but it is an interesting and easy-reading diversion for casual history buffs.

A chronological listing and stories of wars, fires, floods, plagues, earthquakes, murderous despots and more from the beginning of history to 1999. It's very impressive and entertaining to read them one after another, and hard to put down. This book has good stories and explanations behind the disasters. My only criticism is that some of the accounts end with a jokey sort of one liner that seem inappropriate in what was really a horrible event. I wouldn't want to be without this book though, and will buy any future updates they put out.

Are you the type of person who has shelves stacked with biographies? Who finds that reading books about the Russian Revolution is just as interesting as reading fiction? If so, you'll probably like this book. It isn't deep, it isn't weighty, but it's morbid entertainment of the best sort.

Spanning facts from the Big Bang to the Oklahoma City Bombings, this book covers most of the horrible things that humans have done to each other, or that nature has done to humans (or vice versa). It's not a book to sit down and read cover to cover, by any means. However, for the history junkies like myself, it's the bathroom book to die for.

In short, I would recommend this to anyone with a passing interest in history and a sense of humor that has a bit of morbidity to it.

If you like slowing down to look at traffic accidents,this is the book for you.Its rather morbid and depressing but quite fascinating and educational as well. I couldn't put it down until I read the whole thing. It will make you wonder how the human race has managed to last this long.

Simply put The Pessimist's Guide to History is a reference book to all of the astrocities that this world has endured over the last 18 billion years or so...Very entertaining to say the least.I had a hell of a time with this book.It starts off with the creation of the universe 18 billion years ago...aka the BIG BANG...and continues into everything from the JFK assissination to the horrible...horrible Khmer Rouge clashes in Cambodia...details just about EVERYTHING imaginable...including a killer quake in china that killed 830,000 people!!!Very informative,and intresting...simply put this is a must own book...would also make a excellent coffee table book to show off to youre friends...very impressive...A must read in my humble opinion...

All please note that the Galveston hurricane occurred on Sept. 8, 1900, and not May 8, like the book says.

This makes me wonder exactly how accurate the rest of the book, which is pretty entertaining and reads like a daily newspaper (death, destruction, dismay), actually is.

Who knew the author could make catastrophes throughout history so interesting. It is a very thorough book going all the way back to biblical times. Every natural and man-made disaster that has occured is mentioned.

This informative book tells of various disasters from the annals
of history. It gives brief descriptions and facts regarding the black plague,the massacre of the waldensians,peasant uprisings,the eruption of mount aetna,the fire of Rome,anti-semitic riots etc.
The real horror or tragedy of such events is unconvicingly made light of by the author's humorous comments.
If the author or authors had a better talent for comedy or jokes then it would be more bearable but their sense of humor is bland to say the least.
For those who are not into heavy detailed historical accounts this book would be recommended.
I would consider this book more an example of pop history as oppose to a serious historical study.
For the morbid who are fascinated with death and disaster this would also be highly recommended.

The chronology is fun... the accuracy, dubious... the occasional follow-up commentary, slightly amusing... the objectivity, mild... the compilation, notably broad... I read this book over the course of a couple of months, whenever I had to sit down. If you are looking for factual historical record, you'll need a supplement. I did enjoy it.