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Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem, and Misery for Every Day of the Year Paperback – April 18, 2017

by Michael Farquhar (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,544 ratings
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National Geographic author Michael Farquhar uncovers an instance of bad luck, epic misfortune, and unadulterated mayhem tied to every day of the year. From Caligula's blood-soaked end to hotelier Steve Wynn's unfortunate run-in with a priceless Picasso, these 365 tales of misery include lost fortunes (like the would-be Apple investor who pulled out in 1977 and missed out on a $30 billion-dollar windfall), romance gone wrong (like the 16th-century Shah who experimented with an early form of Viagra with empire-changing results), and truly bizarre moments (like the Great Molasses Flood of 1919).

Think you’re having a bad day? Trust us, it gets worse.
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  1. Print length
    480 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    National Geographic
  4. Publication date
    April 18, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    5.48 x 1.22 x 8.22 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1426218079
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1426218071
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
1,544 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book enjoyable, entertaining, and excellent. They describe the writing style as readable and easy to follow. Readers appreciate the fascinating information, wonderful facts, and eye-opening revelations. They describe the stories as amazing, brief, and quick. Additionally, they find the humor funny and with a touch of satire and irony.

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ReadabilityStory lengthWriting styleHumorInformation quality
60 customers mention "Readability"55 positive5 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, entertaining, and interesting. They also say it's an excellent little book.

"...I'd put Bad Days in History in the same category as his other books. Interesting, well-researched, and written in a very readable and entertaining..." Read more

"I enjoyed reading this book a lot, not because bad things happened to other people but because I didn’t know about 90% of those events, such as poor..." Read more

"This is an interesting read - I bought it as a present and the recipient LOVED it! Fun and interesting info; makes great conversation in a crowd." Read more

"...He is also incredibly dyslexic and does not like to read. This book was perfect, as no entry was more than two pages long...." Read more

22 customers mention "Story length"18 positive4 negative

Customers find the stories in the book amazing, entertaining, and great for history lovers. They appreciate the short, quick stories and historical events given in bite-sized pieces. Readers also mention the book is good for finding historical heroes and villains to cheer for.

"...Highly recommended for history lovers as well as the general non-fiction reader." Read more

"An amazing collection of stories!, covering all sorts of ideas and issues! I highly recommend this works to call readers!" Read more

"...Short articles just what I like. Good reading for non fiction fans." Read more

"Great book to read for historical knowledge as well as a pick-me-up when you’re having a bad day. Things can always be worse!" Read more

22 customers mention "Writing style"19 positive3 negative

Customers find the writing style readable, entertaining, and easy to follow. They say it makes for a quick, snappy read that keeps them paying attention. Readers also mention the book is well-researched and brilliantly described.

"...Interesting, well-researched, and written in a very readable and entertaining style...." Read more

"...This alone makes the pacing interesting and keeps the reader paying attention...." Read more

"...Short articles just what I like. Good reading for non fiction fans." Read more

"...Rest assured, Mr.Farquhar's vibrant writing style will keep you entertained and wanting to read more." Read more

20 customers mention "Humor"15 positive5 negative

Customers find the humor in the book enjoyable. They mention it's written with a touch of satire and irony. Readers also say the book has the most puns they've ever found in a single book.

"It's funny and interesting but there is only 1 event so if something happened in 1765 Nova Scotia then that might be it and it may be kind of..." Read more

"...just as unkindly. It is written with a sense of humor which does make it more digestible!" Read more

"Very good style of presentation.. humorous. .good bed time read...did not realize how brutal mid evil people, especially royalty was." Read more

"...Most days unfortunately are not that intersting or funny and as a result the book quickly becomes tedious...." Read more

20 customers mention "Information quality"20 positive0 negative

Customers find the information in the book fascinating, wonderful, and eye-opening. They say it makes history more understandable and interesting. Readers also mention the premise is interesting and philosophical.

"...Interesting, well-researched, and written in a very readable and entertaining style...." Read more

"...Fun and interesting info; makes great conversation in a crowd." Read more

"I was impressed by the amount of research that went into finding something "strange" on every day of a year. Keep it up!..." Read more

"Pretty interesting factoids. However the book is basically a calender. It goes by 365 days. So that's how many facts there are." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

Alan Beggerow
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2016
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I've read some of the author's previous books such as Royal Scandals and Great American Scandals, both of which I enjoyed very much. So I read Bad Days In History with some expectations. I'd put Bad Days in History in the same category as his other books. Interesting, well-researched, and written in a very readable and entertaining style.

This book takes every day of the year and offers up mistakes, disasters, bad decisions, or otherwise bad things that happened on that day in history. The premise is interesting, and some of the days have more than one entry. From ancient history to more current, the entries cover a huge span of historical time, and as such are but thumbnail sketches. But that's one reason that makes this such a good book. Some of the entries have tweaked my curiosity enough to read further on the subject.

Highly recommended for history lovers as well as the general non-fiction reader.
34 people found this helpful
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Joy Cagil
4.0 out of 5 stars Original and entertaining historical anecdotes, even if dark and disconcerting
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2019
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I enjoyed reading this book a lot, not because bad things happened to other people but because I didn’t know about 90% of those events, such as poor Harry Truman’s mother-in-law who hated him moving in with him and her daughter into the White House. A good example to what the author puts it in the introduction as, “No matter how lousy your day has been, somewhere in time, someone else's was so much worse."

It is true that, in general, I find trivia entertaining, and since I like history, this book made my day stretching into a few days while I read it. I may even read it again, and I never read a book twice.

The stories that stand out for me are quite a few, such as what happened to astronomer Tycho Brahe, The Great Emu War, when the sperm whale exploded in Oregon, Tom Shales going after Kathie Lee, Gifford, what the hotel-owner Steve Winn did to a priceless Picasso, the misprint in a 1632 Bible that says, “thou shalt commit adultery, The Birth of a Nation, D. W. Griffith’s 1915 film celebrating KKK, Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima’s ritual suicide going bad, what happened to Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, Clara Harris who were with Lincoln in the presidential box when he was assassinated many years after, and many other anecdotes all told with a clear, impartial language.

The anecdotes in the book are in a specific order, from January to the end of December, however with no chronology as to the year but to the day; for example, what happened in the twentieth century followed by another event in the sixteenth century and vice versa if they were in two same or consecutive days of a certain month. This alone makes the pacing interesting and keeps the reader paying attention. The lesson gathered from all this is that bad luck, mayhem, and misfortune can happen any day and any time of any month, regardless of the year or century.

Then, it is true that a good part of the book is somewhat dark and even graphic, but it is because the contents agree with the title, and no reader can fault that arrangement.
43 people found this helpful
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jmk
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - a lot of fun
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
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This is an interesting read - I bought it as a present and the recipient LOVED it! Fun and interesting info; makes great conversation in a crowd.
2 people found this helpful
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Cassandra
5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift!
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2023
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I bought this book for my boyfriend who loves history. He is also incredibly dyslexic and does not like to read. This book was perfect, as no entry was more than two pages long. It was really fun to look at all of the special days in our lives and see what horrible things happened LOL!
I gave it to him with the context of "whenever you're having a bad day, you can look in the book and say 'well at least I'm not that guy!'"
It's worked really well
It has a good mix of very famous "bad days" and very arbitrary stories that neither of us had heard of! Great gift.
4 people found this helpful
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Marc
3.0 out of 5 stars Not that funny but an easy read
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2019
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The idea is a good one and there are some funny (tragic) days there. However, since there is a chapter for each day of the year and given that there are 365 days in a year, in order to keep the book to a manageable lenght, each chapter is inevitably very short. When a good story is told, then it is far too short. Most days unfortunately are not that intersting or funny and as a result the book quickly becomes tedious. Recommended for a commute but you may not finish it....
13 people found this helpful
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M. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read even for those who know a lot about history
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2023
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I bought this book for my boyfriend who is a high school history teacher. He enjoys reading this book before bed. I hear him laugh out loud at times. Sounds like a good entertaining book for those who love history.
2 people found this helpful
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Alan Beshany
4.0 out of 5 stars Bad Days in History
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2022
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A fun read, but the banter between the authors was lame. A lot of people have had bad days but many in the book were just plain stupid, and there's no hope for them.
2 people found this helpful
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Sharon Prentice, MFA
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Reading
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024
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I really enjoyed reading about all the different disasters. Some people might find all the bad things depressing.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Sergio Jara Rullan
5.0 out of 5 stars Divertido
Reviewed in Mexico on May 20, 2024
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Buena compra
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The book is both interesting and funny
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2024
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I do like it and plan to buy the second one.
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Cliente Kindle
3.0 out of 5 stars Leitura para as férias
Reviewed in Brazil on December 6, 2018
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Um bom entretenimento para as horas vagas !
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blizotte
5.0 out of 5 stars Would recommend
Reviewed in Canada on September 10, 2018
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Funny and interesting book. Used as a conversation starter at dinner parties.
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Oana
5.0 out of 5 stars regalo originale
Reviewed in Italy on October 10, 2019
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Premetto che è stato un regalo per una persona che sa apprezzare l'ironia ed è amante della storia.
Testi molto simpatici, non sempre l'inglese è uno semplice, quindi non lo consiglio a chi non è almeno livello B2.
Copertina morbida, senza protezioni, carta non esattamente pregiata (leggermente grigia).
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