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If at All Possible, Involve a Cow: The Book of College Pranks
A humorous collection of the most clever college pranks ever committed describes how Harvard students hoisted the Soviet flag over the U.S. Supreme Court building during the Red Scare and more
- GenresHumorNonfictionHistory
239 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1992
4 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Neil Steinberg
17 books27 followersNeil Steinberg is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, where he has been on staff since 1987.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 27, 2015
I still remember, decades ago, watching some episode of 60 Minutes or Discover or something and becoming utterly enthralled by the segment's long discussion of Caltech's Ditch Day. It, and later the movie Real Genius, encapsulated every damn thing I ever wanted out of my college experience before I really knew anything at all.
Sadly, I wound up at a far more straight-laced institution whose student body was singularly focused on making its grades and shuffling toward matriculation. Or, more likely, that was just my own experience. Though there is something to be said for making my grades, graduating on time with honors, and walking into a lucrative job.
Still, reading this made me wish a bit that I had reached for the brass ring and applied to a school with a bit more...character.
The good stuff, the chapters on Ditch Day and the golden age of Pail & Shovel at the University of Wisconsin at Madison----follows an indeterminable set of chapters on the history of college pranks, and precedes a petering-out as the material runs dry.
Still, there are laughs. My best chortle was for a picture caption: "Future guardians of American technological prowess hoist big plastic cow to top of dome."
Sadly, I wound up at a far more straight-laced institution whose student body was singularly focused on making its grades and shuffling toward matriculation. Or, more likely, that was just my own experience. Though there is something to be said for making my grades, graduating on time with honors, and walking into a lucrative job.
Still, reading this made me wish a bit that I had reached for the brass ring and applied to a school with a bit more...character.
The good stuff, the chapters on Ditch Day and the golden age of Pail & Shovel at the University of Wisconsin at Madison----follows an indeterminable set of chapters on the history of college pranks, and precedes a petering-out as the material runs dry.
Still, there are laughs. My best chortle was for a picture caption: "Future guardians of American technological prowess hoist big plastic cow to top of dome."
March 17, 2008
Because I was involved in the planning and execution of EVERY major prank that occurred at the fundamentalist college I attended, I have a warm place in my heart for college kids who put phone booths on top of the student center or herd live cows into the president's office. If you think fondly back to the days when you floated a life sized inflatable anatomically correct doll in the school pond and watched from a distance as the crowd gathered and the police force showed up, sirens wailing, to fish her out (ah! college life!), then this book is for you.
April 6, 2007
A fun, fast read. Read it during homeroom in high school. Details some of the best college pranks, including ones done at MIT and Caltech, and between the Lampoon and the Crimson. Actually an inspiring book.
June 3, 2012
This book should have been more fun than it was. Organization was also an issue. In the middle of a story, entire unrelated stories would sometimes be introduced in multi-page sidebars, requiring immense effort to understand either narrative.
And I would have liked more cows.
And I would have liked more cows.
September 5, 2010
I always feel guilty abandoning a book, but such is life. You know how a really good non-fiction writer can take something that many find inherently boring (like calculus) and make it scintillating? Well Neil Steinberg takes something that should be inherently fun and makes it dull.
Then there's the little problem of accuracy. There was only one reference to my alma mater in here, citing as the school's most famous prank something I'd never heard mentioned. At the same time he completely omitted my school's history of pranks surrounding an object that is significant enough that it warrants its own wikipedia entry.
I surmise students at other schools may find themselves similarly miffed at Steinberg's choices regarding their school's pranks.
Overall, it had some fun parts, but not enough to warrant bothering with the last few chapters when there's so much else I'd rather read.
Then there's the little problem of accuracy. There was only one reference to my alma mater in here, citing as the school's most famous prank something I'd never heard mentioned. At the same time he completely omitted my school's history of pranks surrounding an object that is significant enough that it warrants its own wikipedia entry.
I surmise students at other schools may find themselves similarly miffed at Steinberg's choices regarding their school's pranks.
Overall, it had some fun parts, but not enough to warrant bothering with the last few chapters when there's so much else I'd rather read.
January 16, 2016
If at All Possible, Involve a Cow: The Book of College Pranks by Neil Steinberg (St. Martin's Press 1992)is a history of exactly what it trumpets. It's also an insider's historical catalogue of the greatest college pranks ever pulled - or at least those of which the author has first or second-hand knowledge. It recites the record of pranks played by the engineering superstars of Caltech and MIT and heavily focuses on the Ivy League. Most importantly, the author includes his contact information in an afterword and requests that info regarding other unknown pranks be forwarded, ostensibly for a future edition. My rating: 7/10, finished 1/11.
April 5, 2007
From the early shenanigans of putting a stuffed raccoon on the pulpit in the college chapel or parking the university president's carriage outside of a local brothel to the more modern hijinks of hacking into the scoreboard during the Rose Bowl or transforming MIT's Great Dome into a giant boob, Neil Steinberg has documented the history of college pranks. The absurdity of the pranks aside, Steinberg writes in an engaging witty style that had me laughing outloud. I was left with an appreciation of how students could be far more clever than their degrees let on.
July 23, 2008
A good book to pick up and thumb through, but not as enjoyable to read straight through. Some of the pranks described were brilliant, some left me wanting more information as to how the participants actually pulled it off, and some made me wonder who would ever think that would be a clever idea for a prank.
January 2, 2012
A fascinating book! But like other reviewers have said, it's better read in bits and pieces rather than straight though. But it's an excellent book nonetheless. George P Burdell also highly recommends it... :)
July 17, 2020
The book is very well-researched but most the time reads like a textbook. The side boxes with little one offs really breaks up the flow of the stories and is very obtrusive. Not a book that you want to read straight through but good bathroom reading
September 18, 2007
Featuring MST3K co-creator Jim Mallon.
June 16, 2012
Hilarious book of college pranks! A must read for a good laugh, and for plotting pranks of your own. ;-)
January 24, 2016
An enjoyable analysis of some of the classic college pranks from schools including MIT and Caltech.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews