10 Mistakes That Changed History: The Reckless Rulers, Monumental Mishaps and Disastrous Decisions That Have Shaped Our World.

by Paul Coulter

From breakups that ended empires to naps that sank ships, 10 Mistakes That Changed History reveals how overlooked historical errors are responsible for some of the most era-defining events of the past.

Featuring many of the most recognisable characters and episodes in history, from Cleopatra to the sinking of the Titanic, comedian and historian Paul Coulter reframes our understanding of these pivotal moments, revealing how human errors and their unintended outcomes have governed our world – and will likely determine our future.

Packed full of surprising facts and funny stories, 10 Mistakes That Changed History is a greatest hits of bad leadership decisions, misguided acts of heroism and mankind’s most catastrophic lapses of judgement. These are the very human stories that have shaped our world, all with monumental consequences.

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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.

'So engaging and entertaining that forgot I was there to review it.' Theatre Weekly

'Entertaining and informative.' Edinburgh Reporter

'The perfect balance between entertaining and educating.' Corr Blimey

'Coulter cleverly weaves the well-researched facts with modern day parallels; turning historical figures into relatable misfits.' Glam Adelaide

'Coulter’s storytelling unmatched, and his references to current pop culture relevant and hilarious.' Edinburgh Fringe Review

'Infectiously charming.' LondonTheatre1

'A hilarious blend of storytelling, facts and comedy.' On the Record

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Historical

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 5, 2025

Reviews

[Emma Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 🏛️💕

[Sarah AF · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can you 'change' history? I mean, events occurring change the *future*, not history. A more fitting title would be 10 Mistakes That Determined the Course of History but I guess that's not quite got the same punch?

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book. It educated me in some aspects, highlighted my ignorance in others (Alexander Fleming rode WAYYYYY too much kudos for penicillin when he was actually just a messy bloke and the development of its use as an antibiotic was done by others, including a WOMAN who investigated a mouldy watermelon, queen) and was nicely spread across history. However. I found the *constant* millenial analogies really annoying. One comparative quip about social media/soy-milk frappucino would have been enough. Coulter was pinging them out every other sentence and, rather than elevating the book with humour, it just became really tiresome really quickly.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot count how many people I've already recommended this book to. My type of humour, great examples from history and a
very nice pace.

Alexander the Great 7/10
Cleopatra 7/10
Eleanor of Aquirane 3/10
Magellan 7/10
Napoleon Bonaparte 9/10
The Titanic 10/10
Archduke Franz Ferdinand 11/10
Alexander Fleming 7/10
Amelia Earhart 7/10
Apollo 13 9/10

[izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

this made my history living heart so happy

[Annicka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't rlly like nonfiction but I feel like because this was a more accessible, lighthearted funny history book, it I liked it way more. Super fun read!!

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting but I don't think some of these could be classed as "mistakes".

[James Tidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[KD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest guys. I picked this up braced for a doorstop. "Historical" plus "the decisions that shaped our world" usually means four hundred dense pages and a great many dates!!!

It's not that at all. It's funny.
Which makes a lot more sense once you know since Paul Coulter is a stand-up comedian as well as a historian - this book started life as a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe show. You can feel that on the page. He has a comic's instinct for timing, for holding back the punchline, for making you need to know exactly how badly this is about to go wrong.

What I enjoyed most is how he keeps pulling the past into the present. Every blunder gets anchored in something recognisable- the sort of bad decision you've watched someone make in a meeting, and suddenly a catastrophe from two thousand years ago lands in your gut instead of at a polite historical distance.

And he's genuinely good at building curiosity. I kept reading "just one more mistake" the way you'd keep watching one more episode of something.

Read this if you like history but bounce off history books. That was me. This one worked.

[Derek Strelioff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stylish and witty writing style, though most of the events/people discussed (Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, the Titanic, the beginning of WWI, etc.) will be familiar to those with a good knowledge of history, as these aren't lesser-known stories. The level of analysis/commentary isn't too deep, so besides the jokes isn't much more than you could get by reading a general history book, or the respective Wikipedia pages.
So great for people with only a casual interest in history, as it makes the topics refreshing. But not recommended otherwise.

[Katka Olajcová · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Zaujímavé čítanie, odľahčené, také, ktoré dokáže upútať. Len som dúfala, že sa dozviem viac vecí, ktoré som nevedela. Kniha sa zameriava na Alexandra Veľkého, Kleopatru, Eleonóru Akvitánsku, Fernaa de Magalhaes, Napoleona Bonaparte, Titanic, Františka Ferdinanda d'Este, Alexandra Fleminga, Ameliu Earhart a Apolo 13.
Pre mňa najzaujímavejšie kapitoly boli o Eleanóre, Magalhaesovi, Flemingovi a Apolo 13, lebo o nich som vedela najmenej. Človek sa teda dozvie zaujímavé veci, hoci som dúfala, že tam bude práve viac osobností/udalostí, ktoré síce zmenili dejiny, ale nie sú až tak známe.

[Clare Laudy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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?!

[Heather McKay Guillemot · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Marleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Nat · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some interesting history here and the concept of the book is fun. My main gripe is that the whole thing is filled with this really affected and sarcastic sense of humor that I didn't particularly enjoy, and as the book continued I started to find it somewhat grating. It was a quick read at least, and I did learn a couple facts.

[Brandon Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Brenda D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw Paul Coulter perform at the Edinburgh Fringe and it was a GREAT show! I was inspired to read his book and I was not disappointed! I really enjoyed his brief and humorous historical "vignettes" of famous failures. "So much hubris ... so little time!"
Who said history can't be fun!

[Maria Grigoryeva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining collection of interesting historical episodes where small details, decisions, actions and inactions that lead to fundamental turns of history. All told in a modern comedy stand-up manner.

[Raluca Artemis Poseidon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book taught me that even the greatest or the humblest people on the planet can make mistakes that completely change history. I can say it opened my eyes to certain events I hadn't suspected or known about in that way.

[Nia Nymue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, especially interspersed with reading Four Thousand Weeks. I'm not sure I understand the mistake in the Eleanor of Aquitaine chapter. It doesn't seem like *she* made a mistake when her marriage was arranged for her. What exactly was *the mistake* anyway?

[Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this kind of trivia

[Wondra Vanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

makes history accessible

[Crooked Eye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how factual the recounted stories are, but they're certainly entertaining.

[Emma Fedora · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining

[SHR · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Mary C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Bharath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and boisterously informative. Love learning history and seeing the long lasting effects of some lives is always a boon.

[Sir-Chinsinsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love when nofictions are page-turners.

[Noor Heijmans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never laughed this much whilst reading a history book, loved it