The History Hit Miscellany: Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

by History Hit & Dan Snow, Dan Snow (Introduction)

'History is a bottomless reservoir of all the bonkers, heroic, awful and weird things we eccentric humans have ever done. We can't help generating extraordinary stories... Most importantly, like all the best stories, they are true.' - Dan SnowHave you ever wondered who the third man on the moon was? Did you know that Dick Whittington really was the medieval Mayor of London? Why was a pigeon a hero to the American army? What's the difference between a dolmen and a barrow? Who were the Wu, Wei and Shu Han? Was Napoleon really small? Who said 'Pardon me, sir, I didn't mean to' just before they were executed? When was the oldest known shark attack?The answers to all these questions and so much more are contained within this wonderful miscellany of historical facts, figures and fascinating finds which will enthral, entertain and inform everyone who loves history and wants to know more about more.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ebooks

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2023

Reviews

[Andy Marr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. A bit generic, though, and chock-full of typos.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this over the course of about four months, which is really the best way to do it. As expected from a "miscellany," it's full of short historical tidbits, some unusual and obscure, and others feeling more like a basic primer that one might have forgotten from school. No section is longer than a page; some are only a paragraph. If you read too many of the little vignettes too close together, it would start to pall, but it's perfect as just a few pages here and there.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed with mini bios and so many facts about different periods and people in history; this is a brilliant book to dip in and out of.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointed with this one as I expected more esoteric, lesser-known history facts. I get the idea and appeal of small doses of information too, but sometimes the lists and bullet points just felt lazy. Perhaps what would have been better is fewer facts given more time.

Some interesting things I remembered: the Romans' attitude to wearing trousers, the role of McDonalds during the end of Communism in Russia, mysterious medieval monsters, Syndrome K in an Italian hospital during WWII, societal consequences of the Black Death, the effect of Spanish flu on Woodrow Wilson's decision-making capacity at Versailles, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum heist, and the breakdown of major Western artistic movements.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** Spoilers ahead ***

⭐⭐⭐ stars

History Hit Miscellany is a collection of interesting facts from all periods of ancient and modern history formed into one book. Despite the interesting premise this book was poorly executed. It was a challenge to get through and it took me over a week to read, and by the end I was forcing myself to keep going because I don't like DNFing books.

I believe this book would have been much better if it was in chronological order. It's exhausting and hard to follow going from the Iron Age to Ancient Greece in 2 pages. You can tell some thought went into the form of the book because the facts are sectioned by whatever they're talking about. For example, the facts about Alexander the Great are kept together and there's a separate section for his battle tactics. However, the facts jump around in time and are hard to follow at times. While some of the facts were really interesting, and I'm glad I now have more useless history information to share (unwittingly) with the people in my life. However, those interesting facts were lost among the chaotic structure and eventually I stopped caring and was reading simply to get it over with.

Overall, I think this book could have been really interesting and a great addition to the random historical books out there that are also a bit of fun. However, it was not executed properly and ultimately failed to be interesting or informative.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolute delight to read, I am an avid reader of histories but this format is one of my favourites! It kept everything fresh and interesting, with tables, block text, diagrams and maps, there was a lovely break from the normal way of consuming history books. There is so much in this that laypeople and academics alike will take something from it. My particular area of history was explored, but so many others taught me something new! I also think this would appeal to people who consume their history through social media, tweets, magazines etc as much of it is anecdotal rather than academic musings on niche and complex subjects. This really is a brilliant all-rounder!

[Simon Ackroyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very strange book. Sure, it's full of interesting facts, but there's no structure to it and no chapters. It bounces from Ancient Greece to 20th Century Britain, then back to The Bronze Age, and while I acknowledge that it's meant to represent notes taken over years of research, who arranges anything this way? Bizarre.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun and very interesting. Full of some niche facts and very broad in scope. A little British focused but there is enough varied tidbits from around the World and across history.

I quite enjoyed reading it and reminded me of a series of books I used to get yearly as a young boy Schotts Original Miscellany though this is history focused.

Great, fun read.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting , well researched and thoroughly detailed book on such a mountain of subjects . I did skim and skip a few pages that weren’t of interest but for the most part I really enjoyed this book as something to pick up and read a little part of inbetween novels. It’s always fun to learn new and strange things, especially when it comes to things I’ve always wondered about.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ I enjoyed this book, however my main criticism is that i wish it had been sorted into some sort of order. Either chronological or by country/continent maybe, it just felt a bit all over the place. I definitely think it’s interesting with lots of facts I wasn’t aware of before.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed

I really enjoyed this history book , as it says on the cover it was packed with interesting facts , great fun .

[Rachel White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and some things I had absolutely no idea about!

[Triona · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating array of interesting facts that will intrigue all history lovers

[Gareth Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book some amazing and interesting facts very much worth the world.

[Alex Worth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s fun and a cute gift but a bit too basic- doesn’t go deep into the facts and information but I guess that’s what you sign up for ahahha

[Donna Hayman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of interesting stuff

A book full of interesting facts, figures, pictures, maps, charts and other content. Loved the diversity, and learnt something new from almost every entry. Highly recommended reading for all history lovers and fact fans!