Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The only Memorable History of England., 10 Sep 2000
By A Customer
Sellar and Yeatman's classic retelling of history is quite clearly a Good Thing. Written in 1930, and steeped in the subversive irreverence of British humour, the book expertly and hilariously parodies the process of writing history. From the first date in English history (55 B.C.), to the point at which history comes to a . (1918), Seller and Yeatman insist that history is "not what you thought. It is what you can remember" and ably set out to prove it with a litany of schoolboy howlers and almost- plausible assertions. 1066 and All That is crammed with ridiculous reinventions of how history is taught; insisting that all historical events are either a "Good Thing" or a "Bad Thing", lampooning the nationalism of teaching history by suggesting that the focus is always to make Britain appear "Top Nation", and separating each section with exam papers which seem almost, but not quite as stupid as the real ones (including the famous instruction "Do not on any account attempt to write on both sides of the paper at once"). A precursor to the incredibly popular "Horrible Histories" series, this is a must for anyone who wants to take history seriously or otherwise
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fall-over-laughing funny, 6 Nov 2000
By A Customer
Still hilarious after all these years. My favourite line (out of hundreds) "Hengist was thus the first English King, and his wife (or horse) Horsa, the first English Queen (or horse)". Also, how to tell the difference between Arthur (who was fictional although a Good Thing) and Alfred the Cake. It gets even funnier the more you know about what really happened- every time I read it I see more in-jokes (like "Paris is rather a Mess"). Their sequel, And Now All This, which does for every other subject in the curriculum what 1066 does for history, is if possible even better. Learn how to knit ginger-beard and the significance of Exporto Grass. I agree with the recommendation, below, of Will Cuppy's Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody- that sticks closer to the "facts" of history than 1066 And All That does, and covers more countries, but is just as amusing. Plus! A bonus recommendation of 1066 And All This; The Other Half Of History- a history of women in Britain, with great cartoons by Kate Charlesworth, which starts by acknowleging the inspiration of Sellers and Yeatman. Lovely bits on just about every famous woman, and many who we have mysteriously lost track of... A different style, but just as good. (I've forgotten who it's by, as I don't have my copy with me, but it's well worth tracking down).
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best spoof of student misconseptions of English history., 23 Oct 1999
1066 and all that, despite the views of Dutch contibutors to Amazon, remains the the sharpest and the funniest spoof of student misconceptions of English history. It also predates Butterfield's essay on the Whig Interpretation of History and magnificently lampoons Whig historians' attempts to show how Britain became 'Top Nation'. This book is hilariously funny and is also a serious critique of British historiography in the 1930s and before. All students of history should read it; partly because it deflates many nonsensical approaches to history, partly because it admirably illustrates many of the common errors history students fall into, but mostly because it is still the funniest book on British history available.
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