The Rest is History Returns: An A–Z of Historical Curiosities

by Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook, Bloomsbury Publishing (publisher)

Bloomsbury presents The Rest is History An A-Z of Historical Curiosities, written by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook with Goalhanger Podcasts, read by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

The second bestselling book from 'the most joyous and brain-enhancing podcast out there' ( The Times ) - also including puzzles and a quiz!

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook bring you an alphabetical miscellany, taking on some of history’s best and most bizarre moments. Charge forth against the traitors of the American Revolution, journey through Baghdad to discover the origins of the Arabian Nights and head to Sicily to witness the first face-off between Carthage and Rome.

Along the way you'll find the answers to questions
- Was Henry V's great-grandfather, Edward III, the biggest lad in British history?
- Which Mitford sister tried to seduce her girlish crush, Adolf Hitler?
- Who are history's top 10 monkeys?
- Why did the Romans inspire so much American science fiction?

Dust off your tricorne hat, grab your lasso and get ready for a rollicking rollercoaster ride through the past . . .

‘All history podcasts have to be measured against The Rest is History . To listen to anyone else attempt to tell historical stories in audio form is to realise just how good Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland are’ James Marriott, The Times

‘Holland and Sandbrook have reached a peak of listenability at which you’d happily hear them chortle through a history of paperclips or phonebooks’ Jasper Rees, Telegraph

‘A global sensation . . . Dives into the past with raucous good cheer’ Wall Street Journal

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

First published September 19, 2024

About the author

Tom Holland is an English historian and author. He has written many books, both fiction and non-fiction, on many subjects from vampires to history.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Holland was born near Oxford and brought up in the village of Broadchalke near Salisbury, England. He obtained a double first in English and Latin at Queens' College, Cambridge, and afterwards studied shortly for a PhD at Oxford, taking Lord Byron as his subject, before interrupting the post graduate studies and moving to London.

He has adapted Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio 4. His novels, including Attis and Deliver Us From Evil, mostly have a supernatural and horror element as well as being set in the past. He is also the author of three highly praised works of history, Rubicon, Persian Fire and Millennium.

He is on the committee of the Society of Authors and the Classical Association.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historians and podcasters explore various historical eras and facts alphabetically. This has been a good book to dip in and out of on an evening.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook. Huge fan of the podcast, but this is mainly a repackaging of the (excellent) content found on the main feed. I’m glad to have bought it simply to provide some support to the wonderful historians, but the magic of the podcast formula doesn’t translate to the book form, at least as an audiobook. That often seems the case. Here there is a lot of dubious accent work and impersonations that wear a little thin. Likely intended as a stocking filler, not a cash grab, but it offers little to existing fans of the podcast. Again, happy to provide some small repayment to the many hours of outstanding entertainment and knowledge received. Going back to listen again to the Cortes series…

[Thomas Ware · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine! Mildly interesting, fine for a Christmas read, mostly repackaging material from the podcast. A little silly at times. Reads like a Horrible Histories book for adults.

Speaking as a “Rest Is History Club” member, if you like the podcast then don’t read this, get Rubicon or Never Had It So Good!

[Daniel Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's some interesting chapters and historical info in here but it's diluted with weird structure, baffling choices in how information is presented, and just a lack of understanding about what is fun or not. I expected more.

[Tammie]

DNF

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

My power to find other books in the series before the first one strikes again.
But there is no need to panic. This is a stand-alone book with even more history curiosities.
It's a fun read.

[Lisa C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the podcast, this read was enjoyable but I would prefer to listen to them!

[Cher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting a bit British centric but ok

[Natasha Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few too many impressions of derisible women and quizzes/polls/etc that were hard to keep track of. Just a whole lot more silly.