Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: History's Lists

Uncle John's Facts and Trivia

by Bathroom Readers' Institute

Lots and lots of lists of quick and quirky historical facts, from the Stone Age to the Internet Age!
 
Leave it to Uncle John to find a new way to make history fun and exciting! This quirky collection of lists is the latest volume in the Bathroom Reader's bestselling history series. Over 500 fact-packed pages will breathe life into history's most famous (and most unusual) stories. History buffs, trivia hounds, and readers looking for an educational snack will love learning about some of history's greatest—and strangest—events. In one great book, you'll
 
* Two famous pioneering trails
* Three one-armed men who lent a hand
* Four famous folks who literally died laughing
* Five horrifying medieval punishments
* Six photographic firsts
* Seven hotel rooms where history was made
* Eight disgusting secret ingredients
* Nine famous trains
* Ten places you can't go
* Eleven disasters that changed the world
* Twelve fast food firsts, and much, much more!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Trivia, Humor, Ebooks

521 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

The Bathroom Reader's Institute UJBR boasts more than 12 million books in print and a membership base topping 40,000 loyal readers . . .

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books. Plain and simple. You can read them anywhere, anytime and there's always something new to learn. I look forward to reading many more!

[Steve Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncle John came through again with interesting trivia about history. Always manages to dredge up lots of facts that you didn't know. Some of the topics were not particular interesting to me such as Gold Rushes, but other topics could really pull you in. This book is good filler reading for when you don't have lots of time.

[Jeff Koslowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good jumping off point. Certainly not the end all be all of its subjects but it definitely opens (or reopens) your eyes to certain subjects. The fact that each chapter only lasts about 3-5 pages and has many bite-sized sections within it, it moves quick for 485 pages if you're dedicated (which I wasn't for chunks of time).

[Oscar Lilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books like this are great for the toilet. Little snippets of interesting facts. Unfortunately, with the high volume of historical knickknacks errors come up, and they seemed to crop up more frequently the closer to the end I got, as if the writers were under a deadline to print and felt rushed.

[Mhorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

I've read several of these books. All have been entertaining to various degrees. But I have found mistakes. In this one there's a claim WW2 ended in May of 45. Incorrect. WW2 in Europe ended then. WW2 itself ended in September of 45. Fun books. Better editing.

[Quartknee · Rating 1 out of 5]

The prose style is that try-hard positivity that reads as fake/hyperbolic. Lists are weak and drowning in blather.

[Tom Darrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good concept, overall, but it could be stronger in its execution.

Instead of a bunch of history stories, this book organized those stories into list form. For example, it has a list of stories about famous assassins or the origins of different types of sodas and candy. There is a lot of variety here, which is good.

I'm a history teacher and read a fair amount of Uncle John's books, so some of the stories here are familiar and repeated, but there's enough new information to make this book a worthwhile read.

As for negatives, there are two big ones for me... First, they kind of play fast and loose with the term "list". For example, there are several places where two items or events make the list. The biggest problem, though, is in the editing. There are numerous typos (mostly capitalization) and a few factual errors (where they set the date for an event in the wrong year, like 1862 instead of 1863). Those errors might be typographical as well.

[Nicole Yovanoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. It focused a little too much on American history and had several errors including claiming that Elizabeth I of England was Catholic. The only time she was a "practicing" Catholic was during Mary I reign. Seriously. Did the editors not know about the Reformation?

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy these books, and quite like history, but I found I skimmed more of this book than I usually do.

[Michael Tarpinian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never like the theme books as well as the general ones.

[Dustin Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good as these always are but a bit dull which was surprising.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in short installments between other books and really enjoyed it. It gave historical variety mixed with weird facts, humor and tragedy.

[Abraham Ray]

nice read!