The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody

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Ever wonder what Nero did before he began fiddling about in Rome, or wanted the bare facts about Lady Godiva? Maybe you've found the story of Lucrezia Borgia a bitter pill to swallow, or wanted the straight skinny on corpulent King Henry the Eighth, but you haven't the stomach for stuffy history books. Now these and twenty-two more of history's most famous personages are brought brilliantly to life, in this collection of unfailingly accurate yet undeniably hilarious biographies. You'll laugh while you learn about...
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More About This Book

Overview

Ever wonder what Nero did before he began fiddling about in Rome, or wanted the bare facts about Lady Godiva? Maybe you've found the story of Lucrezia Borgia a bitter pill to swallow, or wanted the straight skinny on corpulent King Henry the Eighth, but you haven't the stomach for stuffy history books. Now these and twenty-two more of history's most famous personages are brought brilliantly to life, in this collection of unfailingly accurate yet undeniably hilarious biographies. You'll laugh while you learn about the very real people behind the legendary names, including why Montezuma was so vengeful, and why Catherine was so Great. You'll even finally lay to rest the rumor that Charlemagne was called "Chuck" by his friends.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781567923773
  • Publisher: Godine, David R. Publishers, Inc.
  • Publication date: 10/28/2008
  • Edition description: New
  • Pages: 224
  • Product dimensions: 5.30 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Part I It Seems There Were Two Egyptians
Cheops, or Khufu 7
Hatshepsut 17
Part II Ancient Greeks and Worse
Pericles 29
Alexander the Great 38
Hannibal 46
Cleopatra 55
Nero 61
Part III Strange Bedfellows
Attila the Hun 71
Charlemagne 78
Lady Godiva 86
Lucrezia Borgia 96
Philip the Sap 106
Part IV A Few Greats
Louis XIV 113
Madame DU Barry 122
Peter the Great 132
Catherine the Great 141
Frederick the Great 149
Part V Merrie England
William the Conqueror 159
Henry VIII 166
Elizabeth 172
George III 180
Part VI Now We're Getting Somewhere
Leif the Lucky 189
Christopher Columbus 194
Montezuma 200
Captain John Smith 206
Miles Standish 212
Part VII They All Had Their Fun
Some Royal Pranks 219
Some Royal Stomachs 222
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 10 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(9)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 10 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 6, 2006

    Still Funny After All These Years

    When I was about 10 years old (I'm 60 now) my parents had this book and I loved it. I have wondered for many years if it was still in print and highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in history and a keen sense of humor. A great spoof of the famous and infamous!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 8, 2004

    The REAL stories

    These are funny stories about 'great' people that we never learned in school. And it's too bad. You would think some college professor, at least, might suggest this. But, oh well. Very entertaining look at how utterly human some of the biggest names in history really were.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 7, 2001

    Cuppy is Brilliant

    This book is a rare find--it deals with history's most colorful characters, managing to be simultaneously hilarious, witty, wry, insightful, and true. From a man who can catch the OED in error, humor is the last thing you'd expect, and you get it in spades.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 11, 2000

    7 long years for this book

    This book is so good that it can make you smile if not laughing, all the time. This book has been my obssesion for 7 years, I am so glad now I find it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 4, 2000

    Good history

    As painless a history lesson as you'll ever get. Unless, of course, you have heart attack or asthma attack from the laughter.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 17, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Devil's Dictionary (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading)
    How to Become Extinct
    The Cartoon History of the Universe, Volumes 1-7

    Real History. Real Smart. Real Funny.

    Factually true, laugh-out-loud-funny characterizations of famous historical figures.

    Will Cuppy was a genius with a dark sense of humor, and a touch of the misanthrope. Very scholarly - he would do extensive research, taking notes on hundreds of 3x5 cards before beginning a piece - yet the flow of his writing seems almost off-the-cuff. The more you know about history, the more you'll laugh.

    A great gift for a well-read friend or a professor/teacher of history!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 24, 2005

    For those ignorant of history!

    If you have a eight-grade level education or above, then stay away from this book. This book is for people that do not know anything about history. The chapters are very short and the author does not contribute any new facts about the people he wrote about... and how could he if at the time of publishing he was dead (the book was published by his estate). Also, the sense of humor is a little out-dated: you can find some sexists jokes appropriate for the fifties, but not for today. Stay away from this book if you are a history enthusiast. He has so many footnotes that it is impossible to follow the reading, and even that would be OK if the footnotes were remotely interesting, but they are not. He attempts to make the reading funny, but he falls way short of his goal. Furthermore, since the book was written in the 50's, I'm sure some of the information is incorrect and outdated. Anyway, did not enjoy it and would not recommend it.

    0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 5, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 3, 2010

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 25, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

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