 2009-01-07 - history with perception and reflection
the book delivers history in a new way
short yet insightful
whole picture shows relationship of events and people's actions
makes you laugh, makes you think, helps you understand
2008-12-30 - The Mental Floss History of the World
The book arrived in great condition and in time to be given as a Christmas present. Excellent service!
2008-12-26 - COOL!!!
This book is fun and brilliant! I am also receiving the Mental Floss Magazine now and love that just as much! Ordering the magazine as birthday gifts for friends and relatives this coming year!
2008-12-23 - Entertaining and Informative
As a regular reader of the Mental Floss website, I enjoyed the quirky condensed history of this book. Considering the breadth of human civilization, they touched on every facet of history, however briefly, with humor and insight. The format was great, breaking each era down into concise summaries by geographic region and also elaborating on positive and negative contributions of each period. My only criticism is the inaccurate portrayal of Henry VIII's schism with the church on page 198, the purpose of which the authors claim was to "...divorce his wife - or his second wife, or his third-..." Henry did in fact divorce his first wife, beheaded his second wife, but he was quite in love with his third wife who died in childbirth (but I'm a Tudor junkie, so I nitpick...).
Overall, it was an entertaining and informative "romp" through history, somewhat reminiscent of Kenneth B. Davis's "Don't Know Much About Books," with a very distinct Mental Floss flavor.
 2008-12-22 - A Python-esque look at history's "best bits"
The editors at Mental Floss magazine have put together an irreverent, though fairly detailed, romp through civilization's best bits. This info is taken straight from the cover ribbon, dear reader. The graphics and text on the jacket just scream "Monty Python", but that's not a bad thing, as the Python gang always had a healthy respect for historical and social satire, a fact that clearly isn't lost on this lot.
What you get here is 12 chapters and 400 pages of quick reading historical tidbits that cover a surprising amount of ground. It's a brief outline at best, but there are plenty of sidebars and interesting facts to be found, all served up with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor. Each chapter starts out with an "In A Nutshell" synopsis and a dateline and finishes with a "By The Numbers" breakdown of significant statistics. In between, the reader is treated to trivia and facts galore. Short inter-chapter breaks and sidebars make for quick reading, especially if you're like me and you like to skip around in books like this. I'd add that this makes GREAT....ummmm....restroom reading, if I might be so bold. Most excellent if you have a few minutes to, errr....kill.
Great for adults and teens. The Mental Floss folks don't tiptoe on sexual issues as they relate to history, and there are several references throughout the text that might be a little too much for 12-and unders. You might find yourself with a little explaining to do if you haven't covered some of this ground with your youngster.
In short, a fast look at history's highlights, but a darn entertaining one. Recommended.
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