1966 and All That [Hardcover]

I note that not all the readers reviewers liked this, and although the 1930's original "1066 And All That" is rightly acknowledged as a classic, the effect of this kind of parody is always likley to be amusing rather than belly-laugh funny.

True, some of the puns are overly and sometimes unnecessarilly contrived, but there are some good moments: Grandhi walking round India "stirring up inaction"; Jesse Matthews, unexpected victor of the 1936 Olympics; the coronation in black and white, "as colour was still strictly rationed"; British World War 2 pow's, permitted nothing but "a selection of ropes, false passports, fancy moustaches, German phrase books, a selection of pantomine costumes, a wooden horse and a couple of gliders".

My favourite characters: Alexander Gissa Bell, and, for some reason, my biggest personal laugh: "the Webbs, Donald and Daffy" (bit of an historians' in-joke, that one); most obscure pun, Admiral Duncan Donitz; and Most Memorable event: the end of Mrs Thatcherism; her "loyal ministers" have individually "told her she was absolutely marvellous, but that she'd possibly be even that a little bit more marvellous if she left and never came back. She took the hint, opting to make a dignified exit from Downing Street, howling in tears, hammering on the windows and waving a blue hankie through the back windscreen of her locked car".

Nearest the knuckle of bad taste are the attempted Princess of Wails jokes, one of which makes you wince but is aimed at Tony Blur and hits the mark. Most painfully satirical are the French Resistance jokes: "under the brilliant guise of collaboration" the French "performed well disguised acts of resistance such as entertaining Nazi stormtroopers in their homes and turning in Jews". They also whistled the Marseillaise in the streets, but "for maximum impact", in 1946. Ouch.

The exam papers are better than the original, surreal and spot on, particularly the absurd sources questions (and I've marked a few). It was a brave decision to update the original, but someone had to. It may not have worked. On the whole, this does. A worthy sequel. "1066 II."

I loved 1066 and All That so I was interested to hear that Craig Brown has written a sequel. He's done it brilliantly. This is modern history as filtered through the mind of the average Brit who didn't pay enough attention at school, and can't quite remember what they read in the newspaper at the weekend.

It begins in 1918 (for reasons that the fans of 1066 And All That will appreciate) and then goes on a v. funny journey through the 20th century to the dawn of the millennium when "all the most brilliant and attractive Britons joined arms in the splendid New Millennium Dome happy in the knowledge that this magnificent creation would act as a shining beacon to the whole World. From now on, nothing could possibly go wrogn." There are too many funny bits to quote here. Look out for the exam questions (Question 7. Draw a map of Barbara Castle, with ramparts.) and for John Humphrys's interview with Churchill on the Today programme. Craig Brown is also very funny about the Royal family (Okay, not that difficult these days...) and about the national curriculum's obsession with Hitler's rise to power.

A worthy sequel to 1066 And All That, and a very funny book in its own right. 1966 and All That is a 'Good Thing'.

I think Sellar and Yeatman would have approved of this - huge fun which had me laughing helplessly page after page. The more history you 'know' the funnier it is, though it also helps to have a taste for appalling puns. As with 1066 and all that, this take on history is sometimes very pointed and insightful. Recommended.