More Bad Days in History: The Delightfully Dismal, Day-by-Day Saga of Ignominy, Idiocy, and Incompetence Continues

by Michael Farquhar

In this delightful sequel to his sleeper hit Bad Days in History, best-selling author Michael Farquhar delivers another eye-popping collection of unhappy days starring some of history's most famous, infamous and, unfortunate personalities caught up in a rich assortment of wretched episodes.

Here you will find a politically smeared George Washington, a cranky Colonel Sanders, a homicidal Saint Olga of Kiev, a cuckolded Napoleon, a flame-censored Steinbeck, a treacherous Douglas MacArthur, a weeping Einstein, an exasperated Charles Dickens, a humiliated King Henry II, and a faux-contrite Ted Kennedy. And that's just in July!

From the decadent palaces of ancient Rome to the modern Halls of Congress, this illuminating (sometimes disturbing) narrative features an almost endless array of misbehavior, amusing mishaps, and breathtaking misfortune over the ages and across the historical spectrum. Each less-than-red-letter day of the year is recounted in Farquhar's wry voice and comes with the enduring lesson The Wall Street Journal found in the first volume of this
"Bad Days in History may offer consolation to the great mass of quotidian belly-achers ... whose piddling misfortunes and regrets will snap neatly into perspective when set against [this] record of idiocy and disaster."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Humor, Historical, Ebooks

464 pages, Hardcover

Published June 8, 2021

About the author

Michael Farquhar, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Behind the Palace Doors and Secret Lives of the Tsars, as well as the popular Penguin "Treasury" series: A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, and A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free as part of a review tour hosted by TLC Book Tours.

What an outrageously fun book!

I haven’t read the first volume (Bad Days in History) so I cannot say how it compares.

I’ve always loved learning about history, so naturally I found this book to be fascinating. I loved learning about all the weird, strange, and terrible things that have happened throughout the course of history. Some events were hilarious, others were more tragic, and a few were a little disturbing.

I appreciated the use of footnotes and the extra information they provided. They were utilized well and not overdone (some authors go a little overboard with footnotes).

There are also a few illustrations scattered throughout that added to the comedic appeal.

My one critique is that I wished it was more global. The majority of the events were US or Europe based. For example, there were numerous events about various US presidents. I would have loved to seen more diversity in the events and people showcased. Bad days are a universal experience after all.

Overall, this was an intriguing read. I recommend it to anyone who loves weird history or is having a bad day and needs a pick-me-up. It’s a book you can read all at once, or read daily. It would also make a great gift to the cynics and pessimists in your life.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book of mishaps and mayhem throughout history . The events are arranged based on the date it happened. So Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Thesis is on October 31 and the Bombing of Pearl Harbor is on December 7th.
I quite enjoyed the book.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know what it is, but the older I get, the more history fascinates me. I was a history teacher for several years, so I’ve always had an interest, but seeing how humans throughout time have had the same experiences—including mistakes—over and over again is increasingly intriguing.

So psyched that National Geographic, my absolute favorite chronicler of all things natural, has teamed up with a historian, Michael Farquhar, for his clever More Bad Days in History. This is a sequel to his previous Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem and Misery for Every Day of the Year. You’ve probably guessed the angle: the screwups throughout the ages. Happily, this sequel is just the same, with a subtitle equally entertaining: The Delightfully Dismal Day-by-Day Saga of Ignomy, Idiocy and Incompetence continues. Thanks so much, @tlcbooktours for a copy of this humorous, snarky, enticing read, which I highly recommend!

What I love best about this book, besides the terrifically entertaining content, is that you can dip in and out at will. It literally has an entry for each day of the year, some of which are only a half page long, but non more than a few pages. You can keep it on the nightstand and read the entry for each calendar day. You can check out special or relevant dates to you you. You can devour it. Whatever way works.

Things I’ve learned? They range from the mundane tidbit to the major event. Today, August 20, the entry details an event from the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, when England’s William of Orange ambushed the leader of the republic and let a mob tear him a part and eat him. Tomorrow’s entry? Elaborates on how Thomas Jefferson had festering boils on his backside after soaking in some mineral springs and almost died from them. 🤣

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing to get terribly excited about: a collection of factoids, interesting moments, strained humour, and the odd eye-popping revelation. A book you can dip in and out of, if you're curious about a certain date.

[Kathryn Grace Loves Horror · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may have not gotten any sleep last night and had an upset stomach all day, but at least I’m not living in the Jamestown colony the winter after John Smith’s departure.

A fascinating book to remind us that all suffering is relative. Farquhar’s history books are always a delight.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Bad Days in History by Michael Farquhar is a highly recommended compendium featuring a bad event for every day of the year. This follows Bad Days in History published in 2015.

Organized by month and day this is not so much a book you read cover to cover as one you dip into for a daily or monthly dose of misfortune, mishaps, and misbehavior. The entries range from ancient Rome to recent history, with more recent dates favored over earlier times. The historical anecdotes cover a wide range of subjects, from politicians, to writers, celebrities, pop culture figures and notable personalities. This is the book for those who derive pleasure from another person's misfortune. The events are not horrific or tragic; they are bad days, just like a bad day you might have only perhaps on a larger scale because most of us won't have our bad days recorded for posterity. The events covered are mostly that of a person but some tangentially involve a city or region.

Recently during a small gathering I brought out the book and we had an enjoyable time just thumbing through the book, looking up suggested dates (birthdays are always fun). This was a fun approach to using More Bad Days in History as an entertaining diversion. It must be noted that the group found some bad days more amusing than others, which is to be expected with any collection of what are essentially short stories. It was also noted among the group that some of the wording was a little more prejudicial or politicized than it needed to be. It's a collection of bad days in history so extra editorializing shouldn't be needed to tell the story.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from National Geographic for TLC Book Tours.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set up similar to Bad Days in history. Interesting reading. I liked the entries best that were on topics over a hundreds ago. The more recent ones especially those since the 1960s to often did not really deserve there with the older. My personal prejudice. Some I lived through and paid limited attention to while they happened, because those people were not deserving of attention to their stupidness. In several cases, the historical events in this book were boiled down to the essentials. The bigger picture was lost in the media gush of non-important at the time and the reporters did not sort out the important over the daily fluff. Those were good. I am willing to read the third Bad Days in History if one is published - just please focus more on the further past and that can be done by not forgetting China, Japan, India, African civilizations, etc. all have their own fools doing stupid things over the centuries.

[Linda Edmonds Cerullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the first volume of Mr. Farquhar's collection of moments in history that were less than remarkable, I had to read this follow-up. I was not disappointed. Some of these historical moments were humorous and some shocking but all of them were most interesting. It's a book that is definitely hard to put down, but also easy to pick up since the chapters are quite short. The only reason for the four stars is that it is clear the author has a particular lack of respect for those who are conservative (and Donald Trump especially). I'm getting real tired of people showing their political viewpoints in a book that, because it is related to history, can pretty much just be an account of the incident without any editorializing.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice way to start the day

Having read several of Michael Farquhar's book before I knew what a great was coming. Once again he has managed to show us that everybody can have a bad day. These snippets of the misfortunes of the rich and power is a nice way to start the day. I mean after reading how a queen dies because it is against the law to touch her even if she is drowning you have to think my day can't be that bad. So for a romp through the foibles of the great and small of History this is a book worth reading.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A humorous tromp through history, which events or actions that happened on a certain day in history given a couple of paragraphs that would both amuse and educate the reader. Credit to the author for not just keeping things Western European/American, as he goes across the globe for various events, covering all eras. Perhaps this is better as a daily calendar, but it was for fun, so it is hard to ding it that much. Worth one read at least.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always know I'm in for a good time with a new Michael Farquhar book and this was no exception. The pandemic reading slump hit me hard and I'm still finding it difficult to concentrate on novels - these bite-sized entries are so perfect for picking up throughout the day and cover such a great range of people, places, and time periods.

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used to make my teachers upset when I added little things to reports or answers on tests that were not in the textbooks but made the era or the event more interesting. This second book lists many little asides that make some boring periods more enjoyable and show how many historical people who have 'good' reputations were really not so good.

[Tommie Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read the first Bad Days in History, but I will be looking for it. I enjoyed this day-by-day story of what went badly wrong that day. If I had not checked it out of the library, I would set it on the table in front of my commode to enjoy it little by little instead of having only 14 days to get through it.

[Bryan Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a worthy follow-up to Michael Farquhar’s first calendar of painful moments from the past. As with the original, I tended to skip any entry that seemed like it was going to be about cruelty to animals. The rest, however, were entertaining and informative. I hope the author is already hard at work on Still More Bad Days in History.

[Barbara Cottrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband and I had an interesting ritual surrounding this book. Every night, I would read the entry from that day. It was a great reminder that no matter how bad your day was, someone had it worse. The book covered a broad range of bad days-from political to academic to military to sports and culture. It made for a broad (and interesting) range of crappiness!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second installment of Farquhar's "Bad Days in History" is just as good as the first, if not better. 365 days of ignominy, horrendous acts, and details of truly horrible humans makes this compendium a must-read for any history fan, potential Jeopardy contestant, or interested human being. :)

[Kevin Hogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy sequel to the first book. Another good selection that covers a wide range of topics that engages the reader, provides a lot of interesting trivia, and makes you see parts of the world (and historical figures) a bit differently.

[Brady Turpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been an unexpectedly fun read, just like the first. I am glad I read it. There are some truly bad days in history and it helps put life in perspective, things could always be much much worse.

[Richard D. Jacques · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent/Interesting subject matter. The writing is very good > amusing and fun to read....

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books like these. Gives you little tidbits you may or may not have known and then lets you research anything you find interesting. And there’s always been terrible days in history!

[Aaronlisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review for the first volume of this duology.

[Heather Mongilio · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a funny, great way to learn a bit of history. It’s worth the read, even for non-history buffs.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a punster myself, I liked the titles per day! As a history buff, I liked this bite-sized approach to notable and little-known mishaps, misfortunes, and misdemeanors.

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous daily reading book highlighting some of the oddest moments in history. This is a nice follow up to the author's first book.

[Stephanie Akers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so fun. I think people who aren't super into history could still enjoy this as long as you have a sense of humor. Nothing was boring.

[Jbussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this sequel book with the wildly creative title MORE BAD DAYS etc. before the first - Pleasantly if you like one book the second is just more of the same. I would read 12 days at a time. I'd start with the first of January and then go to December. That made this quite a pleasant BR read. Although I wouldn't say Bad Days, how about interesting, weird or otherwise noteworthy days.