- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Harper (Sep 28 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0061928224
- ISBN-13: 978-0061928222
- Product Dimensions: 22 x 16.1 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #452,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“[M]anages to educate and entertain simultaneously, which is a win-win for everybody!” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer )
“A cavalcade of delicious facts, surprising trivia and refreshingly honest, hilariously smart-alecky insight that finally sets the wayward historical record straight.” (AmericanProfile.com )
“[B]reezy, bullet-pointed and well illustrated.” (Financial Times )
“A cavalcade of delicious facts, surprising trivia and refreshingly honest, hilariously smart-alecky insight that finally sets the wayward historical record straight.” (AmericanProfile.com )
“[B]reezy, bullet-pointed and well illustrated.” (Financial Times )
Book Description
Smarter than a history teacher, funnier than the Founding Fathers, and more American than Alaska, an almost (but not entirely) comprehensive primer on American history (or at least, the good stuff)
In trademark smart aleck style, this is history according to mental_floss, an insightfully accurate and incisively humorous exploration of little-known truths and widely believed falsehoods, which simultaneously exposes some of America's oddest moments, strangest citizens, most egregious frauds, and much, much more.
Ten meaty chapters, peppered with fun trivia, entertainingly cover the essential timeline of the social, political, and cultural happenings of American history and mythbust all the lies teachers told us along the way. Was Abraham Lincoln really a heroic defender of liberty and freedom? Were the Sixties actually a groovy time of peace and love? Has the U.S. always been dependent on foreign oil? mental_floss sets the record straight and shares the fascinating stories behind politics, literature, fashion, televangelism, serial killers, genetic engineering, Yuppies, SPAM, the original Swine Flu, potato chips, rollerskating, mobsters, rum, communists, beaver wars, the rise and fall of irony, and everything else made in the U.S.A.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Middle-School History Teacher Approved and a Great Read, Aug 25 2010
By Bryan Newman "alaskanoutfitting.com" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Mental Floss History Of The United States (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
Well, one caveat for that approval, my wife the history teacher, was offended by the occasional headline "Lies my teacher told me." She would like to point out, teachers don't lie, textbooks lie and bad teachers repeat them. Apparently good teachers find textbooks from three different nations and then discuss the biases of each account.But we both love this book. We are leery of myth-busting-pop-history- bathroom-reading type books because they often get too snarky or they twist and distort facts for entertainment's sake (or worse, for an agenda's sake.) So when my wife saw me reading this book, she immediately grabbed it out of my hands and flipped to her strongest historic subjects. Immediately she said "Aha, this isn't right!" followed by a little more reading and, "Well actually that is a pretty good description of how it happened." A half hour later she handed it back to me announcing "this is actually pretty good, let me know when you're done." (This is also where she pointed out that teachers don't lie.)
I've had a real hard time putting it down since I received it. The writing is humorous, occasionally chuckle out loud funny. Some of the humor comes from sarcasm and subtle jokes, but most of it comes simply from ironic historic truths. Life really is stranger than fiction some times.
As for the book's claim for near completeness, it is impressive. It covers a huge range of stories and keeps returning to subjects like fashion, religion, culture, economics, and of course politics through different periods of US history. From big to small it covers everything from King Phillip's War to hoop skirts to the invention of potato chips to things as obvious as World War II. I am amazed at how much information the authors convey in short but concise snippets that are often barely half a page long. The book is densely packed with information, but timelines, quotes, and sidebars break up the pages into delicious tidbits that keep you moving to the end of the book. For me there was not too much new material, but it was delivered so entertainingly I read it cover to cover in a marathon three days. I highly recommend it to anyone with a love of history or trivia.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Did you know?? Now you do!, Aug 31 2010
By Jennifer "Jennifer" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Mental Floss History Of The United States (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
Mental Floss does it again! I have to admit that I am a HUGE Mental Floss Magazine enthusiast. I've been a subscriber for years and each and every magazine goes thru every family member before being brought to my office for everyone else to read. This book is even better for me as it is the History of the United States, another favorite of mine. I think the only way to describe this book to a first time Mental Floss reader is to say that it is complete truth wrapped in hysterical antedotes and clever statements. An example of this is an interesting fun fact about Alexander Grahm Bell; "Ironically, Bell came to hate the constant ringing of his own home telephone and banished it from his study so he could think in peace." Pretty cool, huh! This book covers the very early parts of America from the Vikings to the Puritans to Reagan, Rap and Rambo with a bit in between! It's full of real, truthful historical information. It reminds us of what our teachers told us in school and then gives us the truth in an easy, funny and completely accruate account of the facts. I also loved the last chapter filled with each president's biographys from Washington to Obama. Extremely interesting to read for everyone. Happy reading!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable romp through American history, Aug 29 2010
By Reading Junkie - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Mental Floss History Of The United States (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
Just finished this book, and it was pretty good. I noticed several errors in it, though (p. 100 in the "Dancing Shoes" section there's a series of symbols instead of words, and on p. 237. I thought it was "Nanking," not "Nanjing.") Also, to be nitpicky, please cut back on usage of the word "basically," It's an -ly adverb; using it too many times is a sign of weak writing.There was no works cited page; I would think the authors have to mention the sources who provided the information used in the book. Maybe it'll be in the final edition.
The tone is a bit snarky, which I liked. I don't mean that in a bad way; it seems to me the authors assume people reading the book have a sense of humor, and that made this book both informative and lively.
It covers the gamut of American history, from 25,000 years ago to 2009.
I see this as a "bathroom book," one to peruse and flip through while taking care of nature's business. Again, that's not a derogatory comment. People use "Readers Digest" for the same reason.
And even though I'm pretty well-versed in history, I did learn some new facts (I was especially fascinated how FDR arranged to get all that Saudi Arabian oil in 1945; that I did not know).
A book that's entertaining and worth your time. I'm glad I flipped through it and learned something.
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