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Η τέχνη της αποτυχίας
Σ' αυτό το βιβλίο περιέχεται μια καταγραφή των πιο αξιόλογων επιτευγμάτων στο χώρο της αποτυχίας, πραγματικά περιστατικά έτσι όπως καταγράφηκαν από τον Στέφαν Πάιλ, που συνεισφέροντας και το δικό του χιούμορ κάνει αυτό το βιβλίο να είναι σπαρταριστά αστείο.
182 pages
First published January 1, 1979
17 people are currently reading
550 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
May 28, 2019
2.5*
I laughed uproariously at the start of this book (my favourite was the bus that wouldn't stop for passengers, otherwise it wouldn't be able to keep to it's timetable!)
but after 50 pages I started to slow down to a reading crawl. It's hard to read a bunch of anecdotes strung together & I don't think it's my imagination - the later chapters weren't as funny. One story about a juror at a rape trial was in such poor taste (& in the chapter of unverified incidents!) that it shouldn't have been included. It cost the book half a star.
So would 21st century readers be up for All New Improved Book of Heroic Failures? Think a computer disaster like the Avon County Council pay system couldn't happen in modern times? You might want to Google how well Australian company Talent2 Novopay system has done paying New Zealand School staff.
Novopay is worthy of an entire chapter.
Or how about the wildly successful social media reading site that decided to change it's design without fully testing it, causing eyestrain to thousands of users, including volunteers that help run it?
Nah, far too improbable.
I laughed uproariously at the start of this book (my favourite was the bus that wouldn't stop for passengers, otherwise it wouldn't be able to keep to it's timetable!)
but after 50 pages I started to slow down to a reading crawl. It's hard to read a bunch of anecdotes strung together & I don't think it's my imagination - the later chapters weren't as funny. One story about a juror at a rape trial was in such poor taste (& in the chapter of unverified incidents!) that it shouldn't have been included. It cost the book half a star.
So would 21st century readers be up for All New Improved Book of Heroic Failures? Think a computer disaster like the Avon County Council pay system couldn't happen in modern times? You might want to Google how well Australian company Talent2 Novopay system has done paying New Zealand School staff.
Novopay is worthy of an entire chapter.
Or how about the wildly successful social media reading site that decided to change it's design without fully testing it, causing eyestrain to thousands of users, including volunteers that help run it?
Nah, far too improbable.
March 12, 2012
Stephen Pile, a self-confessed failure, decided to create a list of spectacularly failed enterprises. There are some remarkable lapses of good taste. For example, Pile invites his readers to laugh along with him at Wordsworth's comically inept couplet:
The author must have been alarmed when his book became an unexpected success in the early 80s, but it has now achieved a well-merited obscurity. Narrow escape, Mr. Pile.
I've measured it from side to sideWhat a hilarious description of a child's grave! I'm still chuckling.
'Tis three feet long and two feet wide.
The author must have been alarmed when his book became an unexpected success in the early 80s, but it has now achieved a well-merited obscurity. Narrow escape, Mr. Pile.
September 14, 2012
I was looking through my book shelves trying to make some space when I picked this book, in that dark corner of the bookshelf and I bought this as a teenage in the 1980s, and I opened and read it again and could not stop laughing.
This is a very British book about some of our historic and not so historic glorious failures that you can only laugh at. Such as the great last line by General John Sedgwick at the Battle of Spotsylvania while looking over at enemy lines 'They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist.........'
Yes it goes to my old teenself sense of humour.
This is a very British book about some of our historic and not so historic glorious failures that you can only laugh at. Such as the great last line by General John Sedgwick at the Battle of Spotsylvania while looking over at enemy lines 'They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist.........'
Yes it goes to my old teenself sense of humour.
July 6, 2023
ENGLISH: A hilarious compilation of "heroic failures". Let's look at just one example:
The least successful weather report: We regret we are unable to give you the weather. We rely on weather reports from the airport, which is closed because of the weather. Whether we are able to give you the weather tomorrow depends on the weather. It reminds me of Wodehouse.
ESPAÑOL: Descacharrante recopilación de "fracasos heroicos". Veamos un solo ejemplo:
El peor informe del tiempo: Lamentamos no poder darles la previsión del tiempo. Nos basamos en los informes meteorológicos del aeropuerto, que está cerrado debido al mal tiempo. Que podamos darles mañana la previsión del tiempo dependerá del tiempo. Me recuerda a Wodehouse.
The least successful weather report: We regret we are unable to give you the weather. We rely on weather reports from the airport, which is closed because of the weather. Whether we are able to give you the weather tomorrow depends on the weather. It reminds me of Wodehouse.
ESPAÑOL: Descacharrante recopilación de "fracasos heroicos". Veamos un solo ejemplo:
El peor informe del tiempo: Lamentamos no poder darles la previsión del tiempo. Nos basamos en los informes meteorológicos del aeropuerto, que está cerrado debido al mal tiempo. Que podamos darles mañana la previsión del tiempo dependerá del tiempo. Me recuerda a Wodehouse.
August 8, 2008
Need a laugh? Read this book! British writer Stephen Pile has compiled a collection of stories about people doing really stupid things. He manages to hit the right note, so that the tone goes for hilarity, and its subjects are not demeaned. Here is a sample:
"Warren Gamaliel Harding wrote his own speeches while president of the USA in the 1920s and people queued up to pay tribute.
H.L. Mencken said: 'He writes the worst English that I have ever encountered. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it."
When Harding died, E.E. Cummings said: 'The only man, woman or child who wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors is dead.'
Here is a rewarding sample of the man's style: ' I would like the government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved.'"
"Warren Gamaliel Harding wrote his own speeches while president of the USA in the 1920s and people queued up to pay tribute.
H.L. Mencken said: 'He writes the worst English that I have ever encountered. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it."
When Harding died, E.E. Cummings said: 'The only man, woman or child who wrote a simple declarative sentence with seven grammatical errors is dead.'
Here is a rewarding sample of the man's style: ' I would like the government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved.'"
June 23, 2017
I stumbled upon this by accident in a second-hand book shop, in Belgium! What a place for a book like this, in Mol, a good six hours from England and many of the locations of these failures. I’d never heard of it before, but I decided to take a chance on it. At €2, I haven’t really lost that much in money, and in three days I haven’t lost that much reading time, either.
It’s a book filled with, essentially, anecdotes. That’s to say, various stories about various failures, mostly contemporary to when the book was written (as in the mid to late seventies, the previous few years before it was compiled). It makes for comical reading in the beginning, but if reading without other distractions in between, it starts to get a bit tiring. It’s not that the comical content lessens per se, rather that I found I got bored of reading one snippet after another. Plus the humour is somewhat dated where some may even be considered offensive with modern sensibilities. Another user has commented that the “rape trial” story towards the end in the unverified incidents was inappropriate, especially considering the fact that it is unverified. Stories like this I did let pass somewhat, simply because of the time it was written in (and even though I hope and wish for it to be otherwise, people still laugh at inappropriate things even today). Although I wouldn’t want to see such an anecdote in a modern book, especially one considered “suitable for all ages”.
Yet one thing I certainly agree with is that it would be fantastic to see an updated version, with gaffs from the previous thirty years. How far have we come and yet still get things so drastically wrong on occasion?
I’ve left various coloured bookmarks in my edition, to refer back to the best and, in my opinion, funniest anecdotes from time to time (I would include a selection here, but I’ve bookmarked far too many to make a small enough selection!). I think, in that way, I may appreciate some of the effort it took to compile the stories, and more appreciate the actual humour in some of mans’ most terrible failures.
Even though this book appears to have reached a form of obscurity nowadays, it still appears not to have been a complete failure. Maybe next time…
Final rating: ★★★☆☆ – Sort of liked/OK
It’s a book filled with, essentially, anecdotes. That’s to say, various stories about various failures, mostly contemporary to when the book was written (as in the mid to late seventies, the previous few years before it was compiled). It makes for comical reading in the beginning, but if reading without other distractions in between, it starts to get a bit tiring. It’s not that the comical content lessens per se, rather that I found I got bored of reading one snippet after another. Plus the humour is somewhat dated where some may even be considered offensive with modern sensibilities. Another user has commented that the “rape trial” story towards the end in the unverified incidents was inappropriate, especially considering the fact that it is unverified. Stories like this I did let pass somewhat, simply because of the time it was written in (and even though I hope and wish for it to be otherwise, people still laugh at inappropriate things even today). Although I wouldn’t want to see such an anecdote in a modern book, especially one considered “suitable for all ages”.
Yet one thing I certainly agree with is that it would be fantastic to see an updated version, with gaffs from the previous thirty years. How far have we come and yet still get things so drastically wrong on occasion?
I’ve left various coloured bookmarks in my edition, to refer back to the best and, in my opinion, funniest anecdotes from time to time (I would include a selection here, but I’ve bookmarked far too many to make a small enough selection!). I think, in that way, I may appreciate some of the effort it took to compile the stories, and more appreciate the actual humour in some of mans’ most terrible failures.
Even though this book appears to have reached a form of obscurity nowadays, it still appears not to have been a complete failure. Maybe next time…
Final rating: ★★★☆☆ – Sort of liked/OK
August 29, 2011
I can’t rightly recall the number of times I’ve read this book, an old favourite in my dad’s book collection. A production of the Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain dating to 1980 (apparently no longer in existence since as a direct result of the book the club gained a sizeable influx of membership and became a roaring success, forcing them to close down), The Book of Heroic Failures casts aside the modern pressures of success and celebrates the wide variety of inadequacies and failures of human endeavour. Whilst the book, at 32 years old, is now a little out of date and cannot bring readers the latest hilarious anecdotes of man-made catastrophe, Pile draws together both historical and more recent tales of disaster on a global scale, and Einstein’s reflection upon the constancy of human stupidity is vividly illustrated in a lively and genial writing style. The Book of Heroic Failures has always been good for a laugh in our household.
8 out of 10.
8 out of 10.
February 13, 2023
All of Stephen Pile's "Heroic Failures" books are very very funny. Books to dip into for a minute or two, when one needs a good laugh. Should be in the waiting rooms of every mortician and clinic for incurable diseases.
An inimitable compilation of funny reports, offering at least two good laughs per page. Where else can one read about two men being accused of stealing a car while trying to sell it to its original owner? Or about the Uruguayan generals who fought a duel, firing 37 rounds at each other without hurting their opponent (they had forgotten to put their spectacles on). Or the homing pidgeon, released in Wales and expected home that evening - it eventually turned up 11 years later, dead, in a cardboard box mailed from Brazil.
An inimitable compilation of funny reports, offering at least two good laughs per page. Where else can one read about two men being accused of stealing a car while trying to sell it to its original owner? Or about the Uruguayan generals who fought a duel, firing 37 rounds at each other without hurting their opponent (they had forgotten to put their spectacles on). Or the homing pidgeon, released in Wales and expected home that evening - it eventually turned up 11 years later, dead, in a cardboard box mailed from Brazil.
February 29, 2016
I love coming back to this book, and open it at random. I've had this little gem for years. This book set me back 40 cents.
March 22, 2025
Збірка нібито правдивих анекдотів про різноманітні факапи, деякі з них я навіть чула раніше. Всі ми люди, а люди схильні робити помилки і про це доречно собі час від часу нагадувати, особливо тим з нас, хто не може заснути ночами, згадуючи, як зганьбився в п'ятому класі, тож книжечка має ще й терапевтичний ефект.
October 21, 2012
I find this pure unadulterated joy. I bought this while at high school and dipping in to read one or two (or more) entries always bring a smile to my face.
December 15, 2023
this is a supremely frivolous book. as substantial as vapour. and yet, just as mystery science theatre 3000 predicted, decades ahead, the internet meta for silly media riffing, the tone and content of this feels charmingly prescient of time-wasting subreddits like r/nottheonion or r/floridaman.
i have a personal history with this little tome. a hardback copy was a staple of my grandparents' place, and it tickled young towelette to no end, particularly the spithead fleet announcement and the exorcist screening.
having rediscovered it on a whim, it's not lost much of its base, ridiculous charms, even if age has done no favours to some of the illustrations. in adulthood, i've learned to appreciate some of the more elaborate ones. the horrific shakespearean actor is reminiscent of one of the better blackadder episodes, while the ridiculous poem about fire not being moist is the hardest i've laughed at a book in eons.
so yeah, that's about the sum of it. 70s era reddit, and just like that site, your life will only be microscopically improved for having read it. but, also like reddit, if something takes your fancy, you can always pass it along to some game mates.
i have a personal history with this little tome. a hardback copy was a staple of my grandparents' place, and it tickled young towelette to no end, particularly the spithead fleet announcement and the exorcist screening.
having rediscovered it on a whim, it's not lost much of its base, ridiculous charms, even if age has done no favours to some of the illustrations. in adulthood, i've learned to appreciate some of the more elaborate ones. the horrific shakespearean actor is reminiscent of one of the better blackadder episodes, while the ridiculous poem about fire not being moist is the hardest i've laughed at a book in eons.
so yeah, that's about the sum of it. 70s era reddit, and just like that site, your life will only be microscopically improved for having read it. but, also like reddit, if something takes your fancy, you can always pass it along to some game mates.
August 19, 2020
Lots of fun and pleasing laughter. Good when you need a pick-me-up.
July 21, 2014
You've just got to love books like The Book of Heroic Failures. It's a cheeky paperback hailing from 1979 which celebrates the great failures of ordinary people. Divided into sections covering culture, sport, law and order, work, war, love etc, it's bite size stories gently tickle the funny bone but never seem cruel even though they recount some serious errors of judgement. Most entries begin "The worst.." or "The least successful" and compel you to read them - The worst prison guards, the least successful pub, the worst burglar, the worst voyage, the most unsuccesful inventor. Get the idea? Now I'm sure that many of these yarns have been surpassed or superceded in the 30 or so years since publication but it doesn't matter, you'll still chuckle at the misfortunes of these poor knuckleheads. The chapter on culture will be of most interest to Goodreads members as it contains entries on books, libraries, poetry and authors. I notice that this book wasn't a one-off and several sequels followed. Heroic Failures is subtitled The Official Handbook of the Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain and a the back of the book is an application form where you can list your own failures and join the club. Apparently, readers did just that and the club became so successful that its own charter compelled it to disband. We get a lot of our heroic failures from the internet now but there is still a place for wonderful books like this.
July 18, 2013
1. PENGUIN READERS Level 3
2. 7/13 30min, 7/14 25min, 7/17 25min
3. bad, wrong, failure, worst, succeed, funny, least
4. Do you often make failure?
Yes, I do. In the beginning of this book, the author says, 'This book is not for someone who succeeds, but for you.' so I read this book.
5. There are many funny short stories in this book, some of them are very surprising and unbelievable ones. The pictures drawen in this book are simple and cute, so I like these pictures with funny stories.
2. 7/13 30min, 7/14 25min, 7/17 25min
3. bad, wrong, failure, worst, succeed, funny, least
4. Do you often make failure?
Yes, I do. In the beginning of this book, the author says, 'This book is not for someone who succeeds, but for you.' so I read this book.
5. There are many funny short stories in this book, some of them are very surprising and unbelievable ones. The pictures drawen in this book are simple and cute, so I like these pictures with funny stories.
December 18, 2014
Looking back, there was a sudden flurry of books like this, and I think they were a progenitor to the current slew in this loose genre. Just two or three years later Trivial Pursuit was launched.
Anyway, a few of us had copies of this book. I still have mine. Trouble is that many of them aren't heroic failures. Many are just unfortunate accidents. There's probably as much entertainment for free on the web now, with the Darwin Awards. Of course, some blogs with similar content are now taken down and turned into books.
Anyway, a few of us had copies of this book. I still have mine. Trouble is that many of them aren't heroic failures. Many are just unfortunate accidents. There's probably as much entertainment for free on the web now, with the Darwin Awards. Of course, some blogs with similar content are now taken down and turned into books.
November 4, 2012
-Penguin Readers.level 3
-Time:11/3=30minutes,11/4=30 minutes
-7-word summary:exaple/success/failure/badly/wrong/rule/history
-Discussion questions:
1.Have you ever made a mistake?
Yes,I have. I have made a lot of mistakes in my part-time job,foreign country,and so on.
2.Do you think it's helpful to make a mistake?
Yes,I do. I learned a lot of things by mistakes not to do it again.
-Time:11/3=30minutes,11/4=30 minutes
-7-word summary:exaple/success/failure/badly/wrong/rule/history
-Discussion questions:
1.Have you ever made a mistake?
Yes,I have. I have made a lot of mistakes in my part-time job,foreign country,and so on.
2.Do you think it's helpful to make a mistake?
Yes,I do. I learned a lot of things by mistakes not to do it again.
January 7, 2017
The book is a decent enough read but certain sections felt a bit off. Personally felt the cultural section was dull. Probably the best one was the very last sentence attributed to Pile himself.
All in, probably deserved a 3.5 but have downgraded to 3 keeping with the spirit of things here. You should pick this up if you're looking to chill a bit and want an occasional laugh.
All in, probably deserved a 3.5 but have downgraded to 3 keeping with the spirit of things here. You should pick this up if you're looking to chill a bit and want an occasional laugh.
July 7, 2010
I read this book over and over again. It is the book that inspired me to track down a Florence Foster Jenkins CD, and was the source of much hilarity in my home as a child. If you can get hold of a copy, read it.
August 22, 2010
Well I had to have this on my book shelf as my wife made it to its pages, the funny thing is that this guy was a failure but the book made him a wealthy success. If you want the inside story of my wife part in the book you need to read my Blog www.adrianhawkes.blogspot.com
March 26, 2012
This book is laugh out loud funny. I mean seriously laugh out loud funny, till your'e rolling around helpless and racing for the loo. I just read somethign in another book that reminded me of this and was near helpless are the memory.
February 1, 2015
Hilarious book, nice to know that epic fails were alive and well recorded even before the Internet came along. Also had just finished reading the John Luther novel, so this was a good one to pick up to take the edge off that too...
May 24, 2016
The book is pretty unusual. You can read just separate abstracts from it, as they are only connected by the general idea of being a loser, or the author calls it "incompetent" in certain areas. Just made me think how we people can sometimes look silly without even paying attention to it.
October 29, 2018
Really funny, lots of ridiculous situations that seem invented but that, it seems, are real.
There were times when, due to the use of slangs, I lost a bit of the sense of what was going on, but the book is still very funny. Something light that you can read in a very short time.
There were times when, due to the use of slangs, I lost a bit of the sense of what was going on, but the book is still very funny. Something light that you can read in a very short time.
April 4, 2010
This book fails at not being terribly good. In fact it's actually quite funny.
September 8, 2010
LOL. No, seriously, that's my review. It's that funny.
January 4, 2011
Epic Fail! In the right sense of it.
January 8, 2011
British humor with failures from around the world.
January 9, 2011
This is probably the best book I've ever read.
January 23, 2011
I've owned this book since college. Read it so many times the cover has dissappeared. Hysterically funny every time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews