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Bezig met laden... The Low Brow Guide to World Historydoor Michael Powell
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. This is a humorous collection of many strange historical facts which we were never taught in school. Frankly, many of the tidbits may be deemed a bit too colorful for young eyes. Sophomoric might be the better description. Definitely not to be utilized for historical reference purposes. ( ) That it is no longer readily available and that no photos of the US cover appear on line demonstrates that I am not alone in finding this book less than adequate. Powell can't decide whether this is to be fact-based humor (e.g., humorous or bizarre true facts) or a parody of history (e.g., amusing lies). The result is an uneasy and not particularly entertaining mix of too little of each, made more distasteful by strained attempts at sexual jocularity that just make me wince with embarrassment for the author. In addition, some of the entries contain factual errors that appear to be--well, factual errors, not errors made deliberately for humorous effect. For example, he refers in separate entries to psychoactive mushrooms and cocaine respectively as "amphetamines"; amphetamine is a stimulant, but not all stimulants are amphetamines. Powell gets one thing right, though unwittingly: With only a few exceptions, this "world history" is a US/British/Western European history, just like a lot of "world" history texts. Hah. Good one. I kept this book in my catalog even though I sold it because it is just so terrible I couldn't let it pass unremarked. The book started off promising, with irreverent wit and the promise of titillating tidbits about history. What I got instead was the leavings of conspriacy theories and urban legend, garnished with the occasional fact. The worst part of a sorry lot is the repetition of the calumny against Pius XII as "Hitler's Pope". 99.9% fact free, just like the rest of the book. If I could give negative stars for a book, this one would get them. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
History - long ennobled as the privileged domain of lofty scholars and erudite minds - really just boils down to four things if you think about it. Who killed who, who conquered who, who slept with who, and in what order. Humanity's story, properly told, is every bit as bawdy as a sailor's yarn, as juicy as a Mills & Boon, as real and relevant as a night on the town with your drinking buddies. Problem is, it's usually told by Ivory Tower academics and droning documentarians. The Lowbrow Guide to World History is here to set the record straight, summing up our sordid past in terms we can all understand. Posing questions real people would ask - could Christopher Columbus even navigate his way out of a paper bag? What was so terrible about Ivan? Which of Henry Vill's wives was the most beddable? Who was crazier, Caligula or Nero? - author Michael Powell gets to the bottom of legendary figures' motivations and methods and shows why we should still be interested in them today. Witty? Irreverent? Non-traditional? Even raunchy and sophomoric? Thankfully, yes The Lowbrow Guide to World History reminds us how much we can learn when we remember not to take ourselves too seriously. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)902.07History and Geography History MiscellanyLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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