Top Book... and a Good Thing
Written: Oct 30 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Funny, funny, funny - surreal humour at its best
Cons: Too busy laughing to find any...
The Bottom Line: It's crazy, it's funny, it might even be educational.
Personally, I think it's one of the funniest books ever written, and a great way to get kids interested in history.
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| captaind's Full Review: 1066 and All That |
I’ve been neglecting books for far too long. So when I saw a review recently of a book that I love by and author I love (you know who you are!), I just had to write one too.
What did I hear you say? I just want my share of the profits? Never!?!?!? Well… actually, yes. But more the first reason…
Anyway on to the review. 1066 And All That is indeed a unique book. I first read it as a child – my dad remembered liking it when he was a kid and got it for me (everybody say aaaaaaaaah…). Like many things it got lost duringthe passage of time, but I recently rediscovered it – when I moved house it had somehow managed to make the transition with me. And did I enjoy the book as much as I had before the terrible onset of adulthood?
No – I enjoyed it much more!
So What Is It??
This book by Walter Carruthers Sellar (Aegrot: Oxon) and Robert Julian Yeatman (failed M.A., etc, Oxen), illustrated by John Reynolds (Gent), is a history book like no other… ”A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates”. In the compulsory preface it tells you that “History is not what you thought. It is what you can remember. All other history defeats itself.” It’s very British and very funny. (Of course, history ends when, as Chapter 62 tells us (after WWI): ”AMERICA was thus clearly top nation, and History came to a .”).
The authors obviously have a deep appreciation of English History, and the book is funnier the more you know about it. The humour is extremely surreal and would appeal to people with very warped mentalities. The illustrations accompanying the text are fine but nothing special really.
It’s the sort of humour that can only be explained properly by quoting it. So here are some highlights:
”The Ancient Britons were by no means savages before the [Roman] Conquest, and had already made great strides in civilization, e.g. they buried each other in long rounded wheelbarrows (agriculture) and burnt each other alive (religion) under the guidance of even older Britons called Druids or Eisteddfods”.
This is followed shortly by perhaps my favourite sentence of the entire book:
”The Roman Conquest was, however, a Good Thing, since the Britons were only natives at that time.”
Anything that helped the British is a Good Thing, while obviously everything that went against them was most definitely a Bad Thing. Simple really.
Another extract:
”After this Henry [VIII] was afraid his reign would not be long enough for any more divorces, so he gave them up and executed his wives instead.*
*NOTE – All except Anne of Cloves, whom he had on approval from Belgium and sent back on discovering that she was not really a queen at all but a “fat mare with glanders”.
I’m pretty sure those quotes will give you good idea of if it’s your sort of humour.
There are also occasional test papers, containing such thought-provoking questions as:
“How would you confuse
(1) The Wars of the Roses?
(2) Lamnel Simkin and Percy Warmneck?
(3) The Royal Issue?
Why do you picture John of Gaunt as a rather emaciated grandee?
Describe in excessive detail:
(a) The advantages of the Black Death.
(b) The fate of the Duke of Clarence.
(c) A Surfeit
Along with these there are helpful reminders, such as:
N.B - Candidates should write on at least one side of paper
I loved every page of this book. It’s extremely funny and clever, very original, and will make you laugh every time you read it. It’s not very long, but I can promise you you’ll be back to read it again and again.
My Surreal Stories…
Tradition Break
Tales of the Insect World
Captain Disaster Series
Episode One – The Planet Eater of Acturus
Episode Two – A Beta Burger
Episode Three - Wormhole
Episode Four - Mercenaries
Episode Five - A Newish Hope
Recommended:
Yes
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