LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Setting out to answer history’s most curious questions, The Rest is History by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook is every bit as entertaining, engaging and erudite as the super-successful podcast it’s based on.
As Dom explains in his intro, “This isn’t, I suppose, your typical history book. In the pages that follow, you’ll read about a British political leader who plotted to feed his lover to alligators, a Prussian general who died in mid-pirouette in a ballerina’s tutu, a Brazilian emperor whose subjects mistook him for a banana and a French president whose amorous exploits earned him the nickname ‘Mr Three Minutes, shower included”. Such is the splendid diversity of subjects tackled with verve in the 400+ pages of this un-put-down-able book.
From asking readers, “Can You Solve the Greatest Murder Mystery in English History?”, to sharing “How to Make an Eighteenth-Century British Rosbif”, with intermittent top ten rundowns ranging from the “Top 10 Most Disastrous Parties in History” to the “Top 10 Dogs in History”, this is brilliantly witty, and lucid with it.
In fact, rarely has history been so inventively addressed in bite-sized chunks that’ll have you coming back to chomp more. A great gift for history buffs and perfect for dipping into, The Rest is History also has the power to stop you in your tracks to share newfound nuggets of wisdom with your nearest and dearest. In short, this is history, but not as you know it!
Joanne Owen
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Primary Genre |
History
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About
The Rest is History Synopsis
Make room Herodotus, stand down Bede, pipe down Pepys . . . There's a new history book in town.
From the chart-topping podcast The Rest is History, a whistle-stop tour through the past - from Alexander the Great to Tolkien, the Wars of the Roses to Watergate. The nation's favourite historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn't even think to ask:
- Did the Trojan War actually happen?
- What was the most disastrous party in history?
- Was Richard Nixon more like Caligula or Claudius?
- How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill's cover?
- Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from Atlantis?
Whether it is sending historical figures to Casa Amor in a series of Love Island, ranking history's most famous eunuchs and pigeons (including Winky, the unsung hero of the Second World War), or debating the meaning of greatness, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick.
So run your Egyptian milk bath, strap up your best Spartan sandals, and prepare for a journey down the highways and byways of the human past. . .
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781526667694 |
Publication date: |
26th October 2023 |
Author: |
Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook |
Publisher: |
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
Format: |
Hardback |
Pagination: |
336 pages |
Primary Genre |
History
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Other Genres: |
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Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook Press Reviews
"I came, I saw, I conquered this book" - Julius Caesar
"Back when I invented history, this was exactly the kind of book I hoped would end up being written" - Herodotus
Author
About Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook
Tom Holland is a British historian and award-winning author of twelve books on classical and medieval history. Educated at Queen’s College, Cambridge, he has presented documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4.
Dominic Sandbrook is a British historian and author of eight books on modern history. Educated at Malvern College, St Andrews and Oxford University, Sandbrook is regular writer for the Daily Mail and the Sunday Times, and has written and presented many documentaries for BBC Two and BBC Radio 4.
More About Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook