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

by Doris Flexner (Author), Stuart Berg Flexner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A tongue-in-cheek romp through the bleak house of history most textbooks ignore." -- -- Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much about History

"Just for fun, an antidote to humanity's nobler history...entertaining and informative." -- --New York Daily News

Product Description
The classic look at the past with a very jaundiced eye-now updated with even more disheartening facts!

The original "irreverent jaunt through the catastrophes, cataclysms and outrages that shaped our world" has sold more than 73,000 copies. This updated edition takes us from the Big Bang (it was an explosion, after all) to the turn of the millennium, with more than 10,000 new words and 100 new entries that chronicle the disasters, bad decisions, and downright evil events that have taken place since September 1991 (the last entry in the first book). With a light but informative tone and a handy timeline of events, this is addictively friendly fare for those who want a different--some might argue more intriguing-view of history.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; Updated edition (June 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006095745X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060957452
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #197,465 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Never Enjoyed History Until I Read This Book, April 20, 2004

By	J. A. Copeland "mytigodess" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An easy read of horrible events, February 8, 2005

By	Richard Goddard (Hillsborough, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fun look at disasters, July 18, 2000

By A Customer

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.