- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: John Murray; 1 st edition (4 Oct 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0719524202
- ISBN-13: 978-0719524202
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.8 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (196 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 160,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Interesting Bits: The History You Might Have Missed
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Product Description
Review
'Fabulous ... the perfect toilet book' --Paul O Grady<br /><br />'An energetic, colourful book that bounces through the bits of the past that you never knew you wanted to know, but surprisingly, do' --Easy Living
'An energetic, colourful book that bounces through the bits of the past that you never knew you wanted to know, but surprisingly, do' --Easy Living
'An energetic, colourful book that bounces through the bits of the past that you never knew you wanted to know, but surprisingly, do' --Easy Living
Product Description
Did you give school history lessons your undivided attention?
Even if you did, you're probably none the wiser as to how exactly Henry II of France came to have a two-foot splinter in his head or why Alexandra of Bavaria believed she had swallowed a piano. Or where terms like bunkum, maverick, John Bull and taking the mickey come from; or how the Tsarina of Russia once saved a life with a comma; or why Robert Pate hit Queen Victoria on the head with a walking stick.
For some unknown reason the most interesting bits of history are kept out of lessons and away from syllabuses. Relegated to history's footnotes, they lie buried beneath the dense text like a few golden nuggets in a mountain of granite.
Now The Interesting Bits rights this wrong; it is a veritable treasure trove of those surprising, eccentric, chaotic, baffling asides that don't fit neatly into history's official narrative.
They are historys little-known treasures the gems that generations of teachers have excised from lessons on the grounds that they might make history too much like well fun.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Have you ever wondered which English king exploded? Or whatever happened to Good King Wenceslas? Or perhaps upon uttering the phrase `Gordon Bennett' you have been curious as to who you were actually referring to? Look no further, folks; Justin Pollard has all the answers, and more facts up his sleeve than an Oxford magician, to boot. Writer of "The Rise and Fall of Alexandria" and a regular contributor to "QI", Pollard has resurrected a plethora of interesting and comedic anecdotes from the depths of English history with his latest venture, aptly titled "The Interesting Bits", which pretty much does what it says on the cobwebbed leather binding. Those with even a passing interest in medieval history may well find a hilariously enjoyable read here, as it documents as much as makes fun of the subject with equalled passion and satire. Fact of the matter is, most historical figures were as dumb as popular figures today, and Pollard extracts their most foolish and imprudent endeavours in an easy to digest format, catered for fans of the field, but also for those uninitiated.
It is debateable how much truth there is to a number of stories in this tome - a problem you'll encounter with any chronicle of the time - but the uncertain verity of these often incongruous tales merely heightens their comedic appeal. From the informative pub-quiz armoury of questions such as who was Uncle Sam, and how did Dracula get his name, to more ludicrous nuggets like why did Dick Whittington need a magical cat, and which Foreign Secretary killed himself with a letter opener, Pollard's farcical anthology is not exactly a thrilling read, but will have you viewing the past with a dubious eye, and watching the equally daft future unfold with two.
It is debateable how much truth there is to a number of stories in this tome - a problem you'll encounter with any chronicle of the time - but the uncertain verity of these often incongruous tales merely heightens their comedic appeal. From the informative pub-quiz armoury of questions such as who was Uncle Sam, and how did Dracula get his name, to more ludicrous nuggets like why did Dick Whittington need a magical cat, and which Foreign Secretary killed himself with a letter opener, Pollard's farcical anthology is not exactly a thrilling read, but will have you viewing the past with a dubious eye, and watching the equally daft future unfold with two.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
It's a habit amongst the British middle classes, I've been told, to keep a selection of reading matter in the toilet for a quick perusal whlst nature takes its course. It all sounds a bit unhygenic to me, but if you are the type who has a stack of books in the bidet, 'The Interesting Bits' would be a sophisticated and erudite addition to your collection, consisting as it does of 300 or so short essays on historical trivia. Thanks to this book I now know how Dracula got his name, why Americans call 25c two bits, and am something of an authority on the legal prosecution and sentencing of pigs in 17th Century Germany. The author is also a writer on the TV show QI, and if you like that program I think you'll enjoy this.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The book comprises around 200 curious little episodes in history, each one or two pages long, loosely organised into themed chapters. We learn, for instance, of the king who reigned for 20 minutes; of Hitler's early forays into advertising; of the pygmy exhibited in the Bronx Zoo; of the little-known murder of George V.
Sometimes these incidents are amusing or startling; mostly they're just interesting, which is what it says on the tin. For me, they tended to go in one ear (eye?) and out the other. The style is chatty and light, only occasionally irritating.
With its bite-size sections and easy tone, this would probably make a good bedside book.
Sometimes these incidents are amusing or startling; mostly they're just interesting, which is what it says on the tin. For me, they tended to go in one ear (eye?) and out the other. The style is chatty and light, only occasionally irritating.
With its bite-size sections and easy tone, this would probably make a good bedside book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Perfect toilet book
I have always enjoyed history, it was one of my favorite subjects at school but never seem to have time to read about any historical events in any detail due to my incredibly busy... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mrs. Nicola Le Page
A fun book to dip into, or give to a history teacher
Having learned so many of the boring bits of history at school, I can't help thinking that this would be a useful book for history teachers to have up their sleeve, just so they... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2010 by Petrolhead
Treat this book like a fine wine or good chocolate
"The Interesting Bits..." provide short snippets of stories on parts of history when strange, weird, tragic and sometime hilarious things occurred. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2009 by Fred Cai
Bob's your uncle? But who is Bob?
The twenty sections of The Interesting Bits make this little book easy to dip in and out of and ponder the many stories told. Read more
Published on 27 Jun 2009 by D. Curwen
Top of the Heap!
So why not read it in the loo???
This book has a lot of competition in our loo stack but it always seems to float to the top of the heap. Read more
This book has a lot of competition in our loo stack but it always seems to float to the top of the heap. Read more
Published on 16 April 2009 by I. N. Terry
Well, I never knew that...
This is a densely-packed, erudite volume of historical 'amuse-bouches'. Not the sort of thing you want to consume a lot of in one go, but just perfect for those moments of downtime... Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2009 by EmmaH
Great!
I bought this for my Dad and ending up keeping it for myself. Its a great read, very funny, and would make a fantastic Christmas present.
Published on 10 Dec 2008 by B. Taylor
the interesting bit
the interesting bits are very interesting, however some of the entries are a little dull, there are better examples of the general knowledge book out there, the QI ones are... Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2008 by Heather
A funny and interesting look at history
I have always wondered why Henry II had a massive splinter in his head (well, not really. I didn't even know this juicy little fact before reading the book). Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2008 by Paul Munro
Book as the title describes
The title of the book describes exactly what is expected from this little tome. It has loads of interesting snippets from history, that you would probably not have learnt in your... Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2008 by Bumbobe
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