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

"An irreverent romp through history’s best bits,” The Mental Floss History of the World is an amazingly entertaining joyride through 60,000 years of human civilization. As audacious as it is edifying, here is a hilarious and irreverent—yet always historically accurate—overview of the ascent (or descent) of humankind, courtesy of the same rebel geniuses who brought you Mental Floss presents Condensed Knowledge and Mental Floss Presents Forbidden Knowledge. Updated with all the hot topics and events of the past few years, The Mental Floss History of the World is proof positive that just because something’s true doesn’t mean it’s boring.

With mental_floss's trademark smart-aleck approach, combined with hilarious (but true) trivia, world history has never been such a joyride.

Publishers Weekly

Historical survey books can be a hard sell. Too often they invoke memories of mammoth textbooks for high school history class. Yet the swank and the hip at Mental Floss magazine have attempted a more engaging world history filled with amusing tidbits and accurate and compelling information designed to explain the history of humankind. Unfortunately, without the glossy and dynamic print visuals, the text sounds like one long monologue of historical events, with some parts (such as chronologies) hard to follow or boring. Johnny Heller elicits some excitement with his reading, but not sufficient enough to keep listeners attentive for 15 hours. The single-narrator model fails for a text like this. Several narrators and some sound effects might have better evoked the kind of vibe that one typically associates with the book's amusing tone. A Collins hardcover. (Dec.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

“An admirable job of covering 60,000 years of human history in one volume.... fascinating stories, hilarious oddities, and plenty of fun.” —School Library JournalThe Mental Floss History of the World is an amazingly entertaining joyride through sixty millennia of human civilization. As audacious as it is edifying, here is a hilarious and irreverent—yet always historically accurate—overview of the ascent (or descent) of humankind, courtesy of the same rebel geniuses who brought you Mental Floss Presents Condensed Knowledge and Mental Floss Presents Forbidden Knowledge. The Mental Floss History of the World is proof positive that just because something's true doesn't mean it's boring.“Filled with amusing tidbits and accurate and compelling information.” —Publishers Weekly History is . . . (a) more or less bunk.(b) a nightmare from which I am trying to awaken.(c) as thoroughly infected with lies as a street whore with syphilis.Match your answers:(1) Stephen Daedalus of James Joyce's Ulysses(2) Henry Ford(3) Arthur SchopenhauerIt turns out that answer need not be bunk, nightmarish, or diseased. In the hands of mental_floss, history's most interesting bits have been handpicked and roasted to perfection. Packed with little-known stories and outrageous — but accurate — facts, you'll laugh yourself smarter on this joyride through 60,000 years of human civilization. Remember: just because it's true, doesn't mean it's boring! An account of human civilization, presented in the series' trademark irreverent style, features twelve accessible chapters that cover such topics as the Dark Ages, terrorism, and the unlikely namesake of the literary character Babar