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10 Mistakes That Changed History: The Reckless Rulers, Monumental Mishaps and Disastrous Decisions That Have Shaped Our World.
We all make mistakes, but rarely do they change the course of human history. From break-ups that ended empires to naps that sank ships, 10 Mistakes That Changed History is the hilarious retelling of some of the greatest episodes in the story of humankind.
Looking at many of the biggest characters and events of the last two and a half thousand years, from Cleopatra to the sinking of the Titanic, historian and comedian Paul Coulter explores how, despite the glamour, entourages and deity-sized egos, historical turning points were often the result of very human errors.
Blending history, storytelling and comedy, 10 Mistakes That Changed History is history as you wish you had learned it back at a greatest-hits of bad leadership decisions, misguided acts of heroism and catastrophic lapses of judgement.
These are the stories that have shaped our world, all with monumental consequences. Because sometimes it's nice to know that, no matter how bad your day is, the greatest names in history stuffed up too.
**************
Praise for the hit live
Top pick of the Edinburgh Fringe 2024, credited as one of the best shows by Scottish Herald, Mervyn Stutter and the Edinburgh Reporter.
Theatre Weekly “So engaging and entertaining that forgot I was there to review it”
Edinburgh Reporter “Entertaining and informative”
Corr Blimey “The perfect balance between entertaining and educating"
Glam Adelaide “Coulter cleverly weaves the well-researched facts with modern day parallels; turning historical figures into relatable misfits”
Edinburgh Fringe Review “Coulter’s storytelling unmatched, and his references to current pop culture relevant and hilarious”
LondonTheatre1 “Infectiously charming”
On the Record “A hilarious blend of storytelling, facts and comedy”
Looking at many of the biggest characters and events of the last two and a half thousand years, from Cleopatra to the sinking of the Titanic, historian and comedian Paul Coulter explores how, despite the glamour, entourages and deity-sized egos, historical turning points were often the result of very human errors.
Blending history, storytelling and comedy, 10 Mistakes That Changed History is history as you wish you had learned it back at a greatest-hits of bad leadership decisions, misguided acts of heroism and catastrophic lapses of judgement.
These are the stories that have shaped our world, all with monumental consequences. Because sometimes it's nice to know that, no matter how bad your day is, the greatest names in history stuffed up too.
**************
Praise for the hit live
Top pick of the Edinburgh Fringe 2024, credited as one of the best shows by Scottish Herald, Mervyn Stutter and the Edinburgh Reporter.
Theatre Weekly “So engaging and entertaining that forgot I was there to review it”
Edinburgh Reporter “Entertaining and informative”
Corr Blimey “The perfect balance between entertaining and educating"
Glam Adelaide “Coulter cleverly weaves the well-researched facts with modern day parallels; turning historical figures into relatable misfits”
Edinburgh Fringe Review “Coulter’s storytelling unmatched, and his references to current pop culture relevant and hilarious”
LondonTheatre1 “Infectiously charming”
On the Record “A hilarious blend of storytelling, facts and comedy”
285 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 5, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 4, 2026
From Alexander the Great to Apollo 13, Coulter explores ten historical “mistakes” and the far-reaching consequences they had on the world that followed.
I really liked Coulter's writing style. He stresses in the introduction the importance of making history more accessible (hard agree) and he definitely achieved that here. It's hard for a book to make me laugh but this one did allll the way through. V entertaining and engaging, yet not at the expense of it being so informative. Some of the “mistakes” I already had knowledge of, however even in those chapters I still learned something new.
I also really appreciated his brief reflections in the conclusion on the role mistakes play within our own lives and the ways we choose to interpret them 🏛️💕
I really liked Coulter's writing style. He stresses in the introduction the importance of making history more accessible (hard agree) and he definitely achieved that here. It's hard for a book to make me laugh but this one did allll the way through. V entertaining and engaging, yet not at the expense of it being so informative. Some of the “mistakes” I already had knowledge of, however even in those chapters I still learned something new.
I also really appreciated his brief reflections in the conclusion on the role mistakes play within our own lives and the ways we choose to interpret them 🏛️💕
September 25, 2025
Much like the shows the writing is so clever, engaging and hilarious! I learned so much fun facts as well as has a good chuckle over some of history’s biggest mistakes!
January 28, 2026
this made my history living heart so happy
October 20, 2025
This was interesting but I don't think some of these could be classed as "mistakes".
Review of advance copy
I read the hardback version of this book that was published in 2025.
We've all heard of the saying, We all make mistakes, but very rarely have they changed the course of history. This book is an hilarious retelling of ten of those mistakes.
Comedian, historian, and host of the live show, 5 mistakes that changed history, Paul Coulter explores how, despite the glamour, entourages and deity sized egos, historical turning points were often caused as a result of very human errors. Coulter blends history, storytelling and comedy, and you begin to wish that this is how you learned history at school.
Ferdinand Magellan's misjudgement of maps caused a great deal of problems in his seeking of a passage to Asia via the Americas. Napoleon, widely regarded as one of history's greatest military geniuses, totally misjudged the Russian winter. A ship's wireless operator switching off their radio transmitter, which had it been left on, could have saved a lot more lives when Titanic hit the iceberg. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination was caused by a driver who hadn't been informed of the change of plan in Ferdinand's itinerary.
We've all heard of the saying, We all make mistakes, but very rarely have they changed the course of history. This book is an hilarious retelling of ten of those mistakes.
Comedian, historian, and host of the live show, 5 mistakes that changed history, Paul Coulter explores how, despite the glamour, entourages and deity sized egos, historical turning points were often caused as a result of very human errors. Coulter blends history, storytelling and comedy, and you begin to wish that this is how you learned history at school.
Ferdinand Magellan's misjudgement of maps caused a great deal of problems in his seeking of a passage to Asia via the Americas. Napoleon, widely regarded as one of history's greatest military geniuses, totally misjudged the Russian winter. A ship's wireless operator switching off their radio transmitter, which had it been left on, could have saved a lot more lives when Titanic hit the iceberg. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination was caused by a driver who hadn't been informed of the change of plan in Ferdinand's itinerary.
December 23, 2025
It took me a minute to get into this and then I absolutely LOVED it. The perfect book for history nerding, and one of my favourite books of 2025 📚
The format is so clever in looking at 10 different characters in history (rather than one long non-fiction book about one person). I’ve learnt so many fun facts for pub quizzing and am determined to see the live show at the fringe 😍
Fingers crossed for a second book?!
The format is so clever in looking at 10 different characters in history (rather than one long non-fiction book about one person). I’ve learnt so many fun facts for pub quizzing and am determined to see the live show at the fringe 😍
Fingers crossed for a second book?!
March 23, 2026
Thoroughly enjoyed this book! The author is a comedian in addition to a historian so there are teeny chuckles inserted throughout the text. Nothing to distract, but enough to give you an occasional smile.
Each chapter is independent so if a topic does not grab you , you may skip to the next with no loss of continuity.
This book is the sort that gives you topics you now want to learn more about in a deeper dive, I would look forward to reading more of his writing.
Each chapter is independent so if a topic does not grab you , you may skip to the next with no loss of continuity.
This book is the sort that gives you topics you now want to learn more about in a deeper dive, I would look forward to reading more of his writing.
April 15, 2026
I listened to this book on Audible.
Fun way to learn a little more about some iconic moments in history, but a little too many look-at-this-hilarious-analogies. The author does the reading of the audiobook as well, and his voice and reading wasn’t my favourite. However, still interesting information brought in a very palatable way. I would recommend.
Fun way to learn a little more about some iconic moments in history, but a little too many look-at-this-hilarious-analogies. The author does the reading of the audiobook as well, and his voice and reading wasn’t my favourite. However, still interesting information brought in a very palatable way. I would recommend.
March 11, 2026
On one hand, I felt that the list of 10 historical mistakes are fairly standard, none surprised me to be on the list.
On the other hand though, the level of depth on each topic was great and I definitely learned some things I didnt know.
On the other hand though, the level of depth on each topic was great and I definitely learned some things I didnt know.
August 24, 2025
Love this kind of trivia
December 10, 2025
makes history accessible
December 20, 2025
I don't know how factual the recounted stories are, but they're certainly entertaining.
February 5, 2026
Very entertaining
April 29, 2026
Some chapters more interesting than others, as you'd expect. Nice level of detail and I appreciated the attempt to make history relevant to younger generations. Would read another of his books.
May 12, 2026
Audiobook
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews