Product Description

Conventional chronologies of world history concentrate on the reigns of kings and queens, the dates of battles and treaties, the publication dates of great books, the completion of famous buildings, the deaths of iconic figures, and the years of major discoveries. But there are other more interesting stories to tell - stories that don't usually get into the history books, but which can nevertheless bring the past vividly and excitingly to life. Imagine a history lesson that spares you the details of such seminal events as the 11th-century papal-imperial conflict, that fails to say much at all about the 1815 Congress of Vienna - and that neglects entirely to mention the world-changing moment that was the 1521 Diet of Worms. Imagine instead a book that tells you the date of the ancient Roman law that made it legal to break wind at banquets; the name of the defunct medieval pope whose putrefying corpse was subjected to the humiliation of a trial before a court of law; the identity of the priapic monarch who sired more bastards than any other king of England; and last but not least the date of the demise in London of the first goat to have circumnavigated the globe twice. Imagine a book crammed with such deliciously disposable information, and you have History without the Boring Bits. By turns bizarre, surprising, trivial, and enlightening, "History Without the Boring Bits" offers rich pickings for the browser, and entertainment and inspiration aplenty for those who have grown weary of more conventional works of history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #263597 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
A brilliant browse - Manchester Evening News

Synopsis
Conventional chronologies of world history concentrate on the reigns of kings and queens, the dates of battles and treaties, the publication dates of great books, the completion of famous buildings, the deaths of iconic figures, and the years of major discoveries. But there are other more interesting stories to tell - stories that don't usually get into the history books, but which can nevertheless bring the past vividly and excitingly to life. Imagine a history lesson that spares you the details of such seminal events as the 11th-century papal-imperial conflict, that fails to say much at all about the 1815 Congress of Vienna - and that neglects entirely to mention the world-changing moment that was the 1521 Diet of Worms. Imagine instead a book that tells you the date of the ancient Roman law that made it legal to break wind at banquets; the name of the defunct medieval pope whose putrefying corpse was subjected to the humiliation of a trial before a court of law; the identity of the priapic monarch who sired more bastards than any other king of England; and last but not least the date of the demise in London of the first goat to have circumnavigated the globe twice.

Imagine a book crammed with such deliciously disposable information, and you have History without the Boring Bits. By turns bizarre, surprising, trivial, and enlightening, "History Without the Boring Bits" offers rich pickings for the browser, and entertainment and inspiration aplenty for those who have grown weary of more conventional works of history.

From the Inside Flap
Imagine a history lesson that spares you the details of such seminal events as the First Crusade, that fails to say much at all about the Congress of Vienna, and that entirely neglects to mention the world-changing moment that was the American Declaration of Independence.
Imagine instead a book that tells you about the Roman law that lifted the ban on breaking wind at banquets... about the "Cadaver Synod", at which the putrefying corpse of a medieval pope was put on trial for past crimes... about the Nazi expedition to find a subterranean race of superhumans in Tibet... not to mention the first goat to circumnavigate the globe - twice. Imagine a book crammed with such deliciously unnecessary but strangely compelling tales, and you have History Without the Boring Bits.
By turns bizarre, surprising, engaging and enlightening, History Without the Boring Bits offers an endlessly browsable cornucopia of curiosities for those who have grown weary of more conventional works of history.

Customer Reviews

Trivia not history
The fact that articles in this book are arranged chronologically is the one thing historical about it. Many items are mere legend not serious history. Too many are pruriently sexual. But it is a fun book to dip in to. Perhaps a suitable volume for the smallest room in the house or a source book for the trivia quiz master.

Tasty nibbles of history
This book is a collection of snippets of curious historical fact, legends, and anecdotes. the book is arranged in chronological order, starting with 75 million years ago when, according to Scinetologists, glactic tyrants people earth, then it skips to 4004 B.C. (the proposed date of the Creation of the earth, as worked out in the 17th century), then, rather disconcertingly, it goes straight to 616 B.C. and Tarquinus,King of Rome. That nothing in history was considered interesting between 4004 B.C. and 616 B.C. seems a touch dismissive of Mr Crofton, surely there must have been something in, say, 3000 years of Egyptian history that was considered worthy of notice? But apparently not.

A lot of the anecdotes are to do with sexual exploits, gruesome executions or other punishments, or strange happenings of various kinds. Many aren't really what you could call history, but are amusing all the same. Here is voltaire's opinion of 'Hamlet' for instance "It is a vulgar and preposterous drama, which would not be tolerated by the vilest populace of France, or Italy...One would imagine this piece to be the work of a drunken savage." There are some genuinely interesting facts. For example, I did not know that the Americans national motto 'Epluribus unum' (out of many, one) came from a poem atrributed to Virgil, which refers to a recipe involving cheese, garlic and herbs. Nor did I know that Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat-flap. compared to that, his discovery of gravity pales into insignificance.

This is an enjoyable book to dip into, but probably a bit much to read at one go. It's fun, but I would have liked it if Mr Crofton could have given us a few more interesting stories from ancient times, and I do feel he might have managed to come up with something to bridge the gap between the Creation and Tarquinus. Three and a half thousand years without anythign interesting at all happening is a rather long time.