Doctor Who: A History of Humankind: The Doctor’s Official Guide

The Doctor’s Official Guide #3

by Justin Richards

Over billions of years of time travel, the Doctor has run into his fair share of important people - and he's formed opinions on most of them too. Now the Twelfth Doctor has got hold of a history textbook from Coal Hill School, and he's decided to improve it with notes of his own!

From Nefertiti to Robin Hood, this essential Doctor's guide gives us his unique take on Earth's most famous historical figures. Through annotations, scribblings and his trademark snarky humour, the Doctor has plenty to say about the pudding-brained humans he's met on his travels. It's history . . . but perhaps not quite as you know it!

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Time Travel, Media Tie In

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2016

About the author

Justin Richards is a British writer. He has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and he is Creative Director for the BBC Books range. He has also written for television, contributing to Five's soap opera Family Affairs. He is also the author of a series of crime novels for children about the Invisible Detective, and novels for older children. His Doctor Who novel The Burning was placed sixth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of 2000.

Reviews

[Angela Gaede · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein Sachbuch der besondern Art. In diesem Buch finden wir die Geschichte der Menschheit, allerdings mit brillanten Anmerkungen und Richtigstellungen des Doctors. Das Buch hat mein Nerd-Herz höher schlagen lassen.

[ArwendeLuhtiene · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
An enjoyable quick read including most (if not all) of the historical-based serials and episodes in Doctor Who (both Classic!Who and New!Who). I especially liked the format, involving the Twelfth Doctor wrecking a Coal Hill School history library book with 'corrections', annotations and added pages (such a Chaotic Good thing to do xD), explaining how history 'actually happened' from the sci-fi Doctor Who point of view. More serious and engaging, imo, than former books in this children-oriented collection, such as How to Be a Time Lord.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ennesimo volume illustrato della BBC Children's Books... per un pubblico giovanissimo, ma gradevole anche per quello adulto.
Il Dottore (12 per l'esattezza) riscrive la storia terrestre pasticciando un testo di storia della Coal Hill, commentando fatti reali e personaggi storici, dalla preistoria alla Guerra Fredda.
Citando eventi sia dal Classic che dal New Who, fa riscoprire i personaggi e le situazioni più famose, non tutte ma una buona parte.
Una lettura divertente e rapida, da considerare come regalo per un giovane whovian.

[Figgy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read of various strategic points in our history and an excellent review of various Dr Who shows.

[Kenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice little overview of some of the historical adventures the Doctor has embarked on over the course of the show. It would be great for kids interested in the show!

[Joe Kessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another in the line of licensed Doctor Who children's books presented as annotated reference materials, but I like it a lot better than the earlier effort How to Be a Time Lord. Partly that's because it has a better gimmick -- a history textbook scrawled over by the Twelfth Doctor in his customary acerbic way -- and partly because it's quietly exhaustive, including details from practically every historical adventure in Doctor Who's long history.

(It's Doctor Who, so of course there's room to quibble with that description, and I'm disappointed but not surprised by the lack of references to any Big Finish adventure or other spinoff materials. But I'm very impressed that author Justin Richards has managed to include elements from obscure classic serials like 1982's Black Orchid. He even directly connects 1966's The Smugglers with 2011's The Curse of the Black Spot -- which is more than the latter episode ever does itself, even though they concern the same pirate crew.)

At the end of the day, this is still a Doctor Who book for children, with nothing that they wouldn't learn just by watching the referenced episodes themselves. And it's a little frustrating that Richards hasn't included episode titles anywhere, which could stymie readers wanting to seek out some of the older stories after first reading about them here. Nevertheless, the author has clearly gone above and beyond the call of duty in assembling this history of the Doctor's time in Earth's past.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me a lot of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the edition where it's supposed to be one of Harry Potter's textbooks and it shows all of his and Ron's commentary in the margins and such. Though the Doctor is waaaaaay more enthusiastic when it comes to "correcting" Earth's human history in a school textbook.

Though I wonder if this edition is just the parts that the Doctor knows about. Some of the chapters in this Coal Hill School textbook were a bit oddball to begin with. The most important parts of history - according to this book - are all suspiciously times and places the Doctor has been. No chapters about things that the Doctor hasn't visited. At least, not on TV.

Before I get any more meta about this, this was a fun, quick read showcasing the Doctor's historical travels through all his incarnations - even the ones whose episodes were wiped back in the day. Funny, sarcastic, and charming (kind of like the Twelfth Doctor, who is clearly the incarnation that is supposed to be doing this revision). Definitely fun for any fan of Doctor Who, regardless of what your favorite era is.

[Gateway_to_Wonderland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mistä alottaisi? No vaikka siitä, että tutustuin yhdeksännen tohtorin myötä sarjaan ja ollut fani siitä alkaen. Ja oikeasti suosikkihahmoni on itse TARDIS, joka voi kuulostaa hullulta, mutta näillä mennään 😅

Tämä on ensimmäinen Doctor Who -kirja ja siitä jäi hieman ristiriitaiset tunteet 🤔 Toisaalta tykkäsin siitä, että käytiin oikeita historian tapahtumia läpi ja niihin oli lisätty tapahtumia sarjasta lisäten "omankäden tietoja", mutta... Jotenkin jäi hieman irrallinen tunne. Ymmärrän, ettei tässä voitu analysoida ja käydä tapahtumia tarkemmin läpi ja ehkä tarkoituksena olikin herättää mielenkiintoa historian tapahtumia kohtaan ja ottaa asioista selvää muistakin lähteistä. Kuka tietää 🤷🏻‍♀️

Halusin tykätä, mutta jäi hieman ontto olo 😕

Mutta kuvitus!! Se oli upea 😍 kuvittaja on kyllä palkkansa ansainnut (kuvittajana Dan Green)❤️

Suosittelen kirjaa kaikille, joita Doctor Who, historia, scifi ja rento lähestymistyyli kiinnostavat 😊

[James Dunham · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's trying to a bit of a history book, with Doctor Who insider information or inside jokes spread throughout.

It's really not a book with a single story. Think of it more like a book of very small short stories, some only being 1-2 pages, but with Doctor Who poking in to 'correct the record'.

Not a book for me. Took entirely too long to read. It was sort of painful to continue through.

Maybe this would be a good book for a full blown Doctor Who fanatic, but as someone who only casually watched Doctor Who from 2005 to about 2009 and has watched a couple seasons of Torchwood, this book just wasn't enjoyable.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a funny, coffee table (or bathroom, if you are that sort) Doctor Who book. It presents as a children's history book, but the Twelfth Doctor has made some "improvements" in the text, margins, and has added some additional pages about human history. There were a lot of funny parts that I enjoyed. There were a few times where it was just episode summaries, more or less, which was less enjoyable (I've seen the episodes!). But I think it's a good gift book for any Doctor Who fan -- it touches both classic and nuWho.

[Runell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm quite biased as I love Doctor Who, but this was so much fun. Pretty spoilery, so River wouldn't be happy, so just fair warning.

It's cute and it made me laugh through out almost the whole thing. I know it's supposed to be the 12th Doctor telling you all about "human history", but I heard Matt Smith's voice (11th Doctor) which only added to the experience.

If you're a Doctot Who fan, I'm considering this a must.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It is published by the BBC children's division so I think it's supposed to be a kids' book, but I really liked it. It presents human history in chronological order and then fills in information from the Doctor's experiences so that the doctor's life is presented out of order/the entries skip around between all of the Doctor's incarnations - which is a unique an interesting way to see the Doctor's life ordered. A fun, quick read.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written from the Capaldi doctor regeneration. It was written so well in this doctors voice I was able to hear him in my head as I read the words. It's a great book that recaps some major events throughout our history and what happened in the Whoniverse.

A light, easy read that's no more than 176 pages. There's drawings and pictures to go with it. Really liked it.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fun. The doctor runs through many points of human history that would be considered general knowledge and corrects the mistaken ideas the human race has adopted. It is fascinating how many times the Doctor had personal influence on what happened. Even the term "dinosaur" was suggested by the Doctor. I also loved what he said about his friend Vincent van Gogh.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that hits the sweet spot between entertaining younger readers, while leaving the older reader & fan highly amused and appreciative of the 12th Doctor's sarcastic commentary regarding Earth history as seen in Doctor Who. It also offers an epic tour through most of the (at the time) 50+ years of the TARDIS' journeys back into history. Highly recommended.

[BumfuzzledNerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ganz niedlich für zwischendurch, aber es ist eher für jüngere Leser gedacht. Ich hätte mir am Ende ein Episodenindex gewünscht, da mir manche Themen nicht viel sagten und ich hätte die Folge gern geschaut. Die Zeichnungen und Kommentare sind ein nettes Extra, aber nach der Hälfte sind sie eher störend.

[andie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Of course. I mean, it's Doctor Who! Plus I learned some things about real history I never knew.

My hardcover copy of this was a gift from my aunt so that made it even better!

And I got 100% on the final quiz. How bout you?

[Kelley Reid · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great if you are 10-y.o fan of Dr. Who.
Great if you are fanatic.
Great if you need help with history AND can tell BS from Blarney.
I got mine as an inter-library loan from th Army. Wonder which category their readers fall into.

[Sara Casalino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny and entertaining! I especially liked the part about Robin Hood.

I think there might be spoilers for the series in this book. I haven't watched the previous Doctor Who series yet, other than the 13th doctor, so I wouldn't know.

[PenguinAwesome · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book change my view the world and made want to watch doctor who

[SEAN Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was no ordinarily book it was more just a first person book you have to follow the show to read this i think or you will be really be confused doctor who.

[Cadie Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice trip down memory lane. It’s a library book that the doctor fixed, complete with additions, highlights, drawings...it’s was lots of fun :)

[Kai Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. Learned a lot. Got really annoyed that the English call it sticky tape. Tape being sticky is the norm. I think we only need to qualify it when it ISN'T sticky!

[Nikii · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously meant for a younger audience than someone who was watching when Tom Baker was the Doctor, but a fun little trip through (Earth) history nonetheless.

[Lizzy Seitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 out of 5 stars

This was so well done and the amount of detail was great!

[Bunny Cakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much more interesting version o history! Loved it!

[Ajeeth Peo · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the Dr.Who enthusiast. Will seem like a clump of drivel for anyone who isn't!

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi