Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irrestistible Guide to Compendium of Catastrophies, Babarities, Massacres and Mayhe [Paperback]

Stuart Flexner (Author), Doris Flexner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1992

A text for cynics, skeptics, and misanthropes chronicles the disastrous events--from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, to the death of Socrates, to the Exxon Valdez oil spill--that have shaped the history of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- This compact volume records an astounding journey through the development of civilization, with brief stopovers at many scenes of devastation. Focusing on disasters, the Flexners start 18 billion years ago with the Big Bang and continue up to the thaw of the cold war in 1991. They handle the grim entries with amazing equilibrium, usually blended with a tongue-in-cheek approach to horrifying happenings. The chronological progression through the centuries, marked by selective annotations dealing with every imaginable catastrophe, will leave readers breathless. There is a short selective bibliography and a lengthy timeline of events recording air crashes, assassinations, battles, earthquakes, epidemics, and famines. Only optimists could view this survival account with objective fascination. It is an excellent ready reference source as it provides concise data on many major historical tragedies gathered together into one volume.
- Peggy H. Mooney, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 387 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (P) (June 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380762366
• ISBN-13: 978-0380762361
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 1.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,918,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read for those with short attention spans, September 16, 2000

By 

Tim - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irrestistible Guide to Compendium of Catastrophies, Babarities, Massacres and Mayhe (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book a lot, but when I finished it, I realized there were some things I would have liked it to discuss. This book focuses mostly on the disasters of the modern centuries. That's fine, for some people, I guess, but I tend to be more interested in stuff that took place before the middle ages. This book also made a good attempt to be eurocentric, and it did cover some interesting events from other parts of the world, but I got bored hearing about every time Mount Vesuvius erupted.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T LET THE RELIGIOUS FANATICS AT THE DOOR SEE THIS!, August 1, 2003

By 

Bookish In Seattle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irrestistible Guide to Compendium of Catastrophies, Babarities, Massacres and Mayhe (Paperback)

REALLY, if they come knocking and telling you how the world is going to end this second (or maybe next week) and their proof is how bad times are and how many things are going wrong... well you can whip this little book out and show them just how horrible life has been all along! A little perspective! But wait... you started a dialogue with them .. and they'll be back.. again, and again, and again... oh no!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good bathroom book, July 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irrestistible Guide to Compendium of Catastrophies, Babarities, Massacres and Mayhe (Paperback)

The book was well written and somewhat humorous. The short write-ups of each disaster makes it an easy book to pick-up and put-down on a frequent basis. The events are in chronological order which makes it easy to find your favorite clamity.