HISTORICAL FACTUAL REVIEW: History Without the Boring Bits - Ian Crofton

Release Date: 05/02/15
Publisher:  Quercus

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 which can bring the past vividly and excitingly to life. Imagine 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.


REVIEW:

OK, I admit this, I have a set of books that I keep in the bathroom that are full of curious information, weird facts and to be honest things that will either make you laugh or just itch that scratch that for something completely useless to anyone but everyone finds fascinating.

So when this book by Ian landed, it was one of those that I added to my bathroom stock, after all, it’s the place where you can do a little light reading and then throw into the mix some weird fact when you want to either entertain you children or friends. Hidden within this title are a wealth of information that goes to show that stupidity is not just a modern thing and that it can be surprising as to how we’ve managed to live so long.

Add to this historical information that will fill in some gaps within your mind as well as giving you funny ways to remember the facts, all round could turn you into your quiz team history hero. Good fun.