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The Rest Is History
Bloomsbury presents The Rest is History by The Rest is History, read by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.
'An idiosyncratic ride through history' Independent
'Holland and Sandbrook have pretty much reinvented popular history for the modern age' The Times
The nation’s favourite historians, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn’t even think to ask…
- What was the most disastrous party in history?
- How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill’s cover?
- Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from the people of Atlantis?
- What made Alfred the Great so great?
From a British political leader who allegedly plotted to feed his lover to alligators, to a Brazilian emperor whose subjects mistook him for a banana, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick.
'An idiosyncratic ride through history' Independent
'Holland and Sandbrook have pretty much reinvented popular history for the modern age' The Times
The nation’s favourite historians, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn’t even think to ask…
- What was the most disastrous party in history?
- How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill’s cover?
- Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from the people of Atlantis?
- What made Alfred the Great so great?
From a British political leader who allegedly plotted to feed his lover to alligators, to a Brazilian emperor whose subjects mistook him for a banana, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
Audible Audio
Published October 26, 2023
8 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 31, 2025
There are many lovely stories here, a great deal of well-presented historical information, and the book is packed with nuggets of historical facts that I found very entertaining.
For example, Jack Yeats, the brother of the Irish poet W.B. Yeats, won a silver medal at the 1924 Olympics in Paris for his painting "The Liffey Swim". I had forgotten that painting was, for a time, an Olympic Sport.
The section on Trafalgar was also fascinating - Nelson's navy was built on sailors and officers who had all come up through the ranks, who knew the ropes, and their ships were well built and very well maintained. The Chatham and Woolwich shipyards used tools and processes which were designed and made by Marc Isambard Brunel (the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel), and those tools were still in use 180 years later at the time of the Falklands War. The Navy was also very well fed, which was a challenging achievement.
Overall a good listen, especially for dipping in and out of.
For example, Jack Yeats, the brother of the Irish poet W.B. Yeats, won a silver medal at the 1924 Olympics in Paris for his painting "The Liffey Swim". I had forgotten that painting was, for a time, an Olympic Sport.
The section on Trafalgar was also fascinating - Nelson's navy was built on sailors and officers who had all come up through the ranks, who knew the ropes, and their ships were well built and very well maintained. The Chatham and Woolwich shipyards used tools and processes which were designed and made by Marc Isambard Brunel (the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel), and those tools were still in use 180 years later at the time of the Falklands War. The Navy was also very well fed, which was a challenging achievement.
Overall a good listen, especially for dipping in and out of.
March 25, 2025
A hilarious romp through world history! Laugh out loud funny and filled with historical parodies and facts that are endlessly entertaining.
July 12, 2025
More western centric than I expected, but overall a fun read.
August 4, 2025
unique approach
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews