O istorie dată naibii: 111 povești pe care ar fi trebuit să le afli la şcoală

by The Captain

Istoria mișto: inteligentă, directă și ilar de relevantă pentru lumea modernă.

Celor care nu știu istorie le e sortit să nu scape de ea. Vai de ei, pentru că e ca naiba de plictisitoare. Aici intră în scenă Căpitanul, povestitorul suprem care aduce la viață istoria în această colecție amuzantă, inteligentă, brutal de onestă și directă de evenimente care s-au petrecut cu mult înainte ca vreunul dintre noi să se fi născut.

Dacă nu ți-a plăcut să înveți istorie când erai la școală, probabil că nu ai avut un profesor cum este Căpitanul. Inteligent, brutal de sincer și direct. Istoria nu mai e de rahat când o înveți de la el. Fiecare dintre cele 111 povești din carte creează o legătură între istorie și viața de zi cu zi datorită subiectelor familiare pe care le tratează și a unor perspective care nu pot fi descrise altfel decât „date naibii”.

Vei afla cum poți s-o iei razna dacă lași o relație să devină obsesie – citește, de exemplu, povestea Ioanei de Castilia, care a ajuns de la o șmecheră împlinită la a fi numită Ioana cea Nebună după ce a făcut o obsesie pentru un tip pe nume Filip cel Frumos. Vei afla cum fața de acritură a fost folosită de când e lumea (așa că folosește-o și tu cu încredere). În fine, vei afla și că e o idee teribil de neinspirată să te pui cu femeile puternice, de la regine-pirat și sufragete ultratradiționaliste la Cleo-afurisita-de-patra.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Relationships, Humor

376 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[simona.citeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amuzantă și captivantă dar nu foarte relevantă din punct de vedere al istorioarelor.
Nu o să știi mai multă istorie atunci când o vei închide dar vei avea o stare de spirit mai bună și vei fi adunat câteva zâmbete.

Structura o face foarte ușor de parcurs: povești de 2-3 pagini pe care le parcurgi ușor + că poți să pui pauză în orice moment și să revii când ai chef.

[Renitta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many people, I became aware of The Captain through his social media presence. I vaguely knew that he had written books, but I didn't give much credence to it until I saw a post discussing the upcoming, updated F*cking History.

I'm only going to continue this review if we can all come to the agreement that history is not my jam. Okay? Okay. That said, I found myself Googling names from the book. No big deal to history buffs, but to a person whose historical knowledge post-high school has come from Indiana Jones, this is huge. We're not talking about a cursory Google to fact-check; no, my friends, this is a deep dive to determine the best methods to incorporate historical weirdness into current habits without going to jail (or, you know, dying). If nothing else, the book should provide a conversation piece because I don't normally read about history unless there's the promise of a paycheck (or the threat of academic failure). I found myself unable to put this down. When it was inconvenient to physically read the print book, Audible to the rescue.

Full disclosure: I have both the audiobook and the print version. So far. I'll probably buy the e-book too. You know, complete the set.

Throughout the book, The Captain reminds us all that we're writing our own story every day; the message is especially relevant in the uncertain time that is 2020, but it feels more like a pep talk with a friend than pandering (or therapy). The lessons are long enough to be engaging, but short enough to leave the reader wanting to know more. In between giggle fits, I looked people up. I've also told my child (a recent high school graduate) that he's going to read this book. In the days that I've owned the book, I've finished the print version once and the audiobook twice. It's a pick-me-up in these uncertain times, and on more than one instance an inspiration to get out and DO something. If there was ever a testament to the general weirdness of humankind, the eternal fortitude of womankind, or the lengths to which people will go for sex and love, it's this book.

[Erikka · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the history stories in this book, especially the amount of badass women described, I found the need to tie in a life lesson on every section tedious and at times only tangentially connected. I think I would have liked it more with just the stories told in a humorous fashion. I also felt confused that someone could celebrate the amazing accomplishments of women while also making incredibly sexist and misogynistic jokes. It didn't jive well with me and I found myself frequently skipping the preludes until I found the start of the historic fact. I am always up for a fun history story book though, so I can't rate it too low.

[Elizabeth Conway · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting Historical Stories but the way the author tried to make it relatable to modern day things like social media sex and relationships was super annoying... and seemed condescending and borderline rude at times.

[Marika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was sent this finished copy by Tarcher Perigee for an honest review.

This was entertaining, but mostly irritating. I never gravitate towards books that claim you didn’t learn X amount in school/your life/etc because...a lot of the time I have to be honest! This book did have some historical facts that I was not familiar with, but the majority of them I did. It was like a mini Wikipedia page with illustrations, the historical fact and a lot of F bombs/comparisons to the modern dating age/sex/penis’ and always ended with a moral or a “life lesson”. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it came across as tedious and downright obnoxious and smart-ass-y. And a lot of the morals didn’t really make any sense when compared with historical figures or stories. There are too many examples to name. But I’d say this is a shortened history book for bros. There’s not much substance at all. It’s a good try, but it was a miss for me.

[Raluca Anton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny & witty (with a feminist twist)

[Amy Roseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun toilet reading, and that’s a compliment

I loved it. It was light hearted with real stories, and it mostly talked about people I’ve never heard of who deserve some limelight. True to Captain fashion, there’s a lot of very quotable life lessons as an intro to each story, which are always enjoyable. And each story was about the right length for a trip to the bathroom 😆

[Victoria Huntley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read

This book is very witty, funny but very educational at the same time, I had a hard time putting it down

[Robin]

**DNF (5%)**

I usually don’t dnf my books if I can help it, and especially not at such an early point in the book, but I just knew I wasn’t going to enjoy this read. The jokes made were a bit too crude and tasteless for my liking, and I also didn’t understand why there needed to be a moral lesson jammed in with each story. It didn’t really flow well and was just unneeded in my honest opinion.

[Christen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Edelweiss and TarcherPerigee for an honest review.

I usually like history and history books with lots of historical moments, but every story had a moral. History isn't fairy tales.

If you don't usually read history and you want a super irreverent nod to history, this is your book. I felt the book consistent need to bring it to modern-day and with a moral was a little monotonous.

[John Lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of quirky historical factoids that would serve well as small-talk conversation starters during any dinner party. However, the downside is each one is couched inside 2 pages of the author's editorializing, often which is vulgar and uninteresting and unnecessary.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, hilarious read. This author has a great sense of humor.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

So little history, so much blathering. At once both preachy and profane. Maybe 15% of the content is actually history and none of it is novel or covered in enough depth to be either interesting or meaningful. If this was an experiment in pop history, it’s a failed one.

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book started in 2022 I found during my bookshelf clean up. If you are looking for quick read full of random historical trivia and sarcasm, definitely check this out.

[Jason McCracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

If “The Captain” taught me in high school I would have hated it a lot less. Mary Toft also needs to be a part of every curriculum.

[Maxwell D'Amico · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make the perfect coffee table book.... or bathroom book

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I decided to read this even though it had mixed reviews. I thought i may learn some odd historical tid bits . I had to stop around page 80. It sounds like a 12 year old gnarly dude wrote it. Lots of imature and dopey wording. No redeaming stories. Completely uninteresting. Dont waste your time.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did audible for this one and it was good, quick witted and fun for history buffs.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guess I was swayed by the good reviews and was expecting more actual history or maybe revisions of history learned, but no.

The guy's voice is very caustic and the bits of history not that interesting to me.

[Harmony Pamela Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered this book primarily because I follow the author (The Captain aka Kyle Creek @sgrstk) on social media platforms. I love what he shares. As soon as I read he had a book coming out, I immediately went on Amazon and ordered it. I had to wait for the release date, but this book was well worth the wait. I cannot say enough about this book!!! The history in it is exactly how it should be told, short, simple, gets to the point, touches of humour and very captivating. He leaves out the tedious information that is unnecessary unless one needs more information for research. But saying this I would even recommend this book as a starting point. This is how one should read history, it remains in your brain, so to speak. He also gives what I call antidotes at the end of each chapter that can benefit the reader who has related to what they read. Some I found very bolstering. I absolutely love this book and highly recommend it to all adults, even if you’re not a history buff, this book will have you relishing history in a different light, you will take pleasure in reading it! Now go buy it, it will entertain you!!!

[James Elkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

A waste of time and money

Possibly the most pointless book I've ever encountered. Stray, vague historical anecdotes presented as humorless and moronic life-lessons. Something positive? There were few spelling mistakes...but that means little considering the author's apparently limited vocabulary.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a 3.5 for me. I appreciate the breeziness and the variety of the tales told, but it felt like 2/3 banter and 1/3 history when I'd prefer to have less talk and more details. The brevity means that for the stories I did recognize, I knew details that would have made the chapters that much more impressive (like Bessie Coleman's race not garnering attention here).

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like non-sequiturs interlaced with profanity (if there is such a thing anymore), this is the book for you. Otherwise, maybe not. Or revert to Howard Zinn. Your call. Could not listen to more than twenty minutes. I did not finish the book, but I was finished with it.

[Diane, the BookWitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to it, so the snark level was over the roof.

I did not love how Herero-centric the morals were, not how smart-ass the tone was. The facts were interesting, but the life lessons that followed were at times ridiculous and a stretch.

[Mike Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish this inane attempt to provide life lessons from examples in history. The only remarkable thing about the book, aside from its lack of merit, is The Captain's ability to work "fuck" into as many sentences as possible. Don't waste your time.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, bite-sized history nuggets. I enjoyed the read and learned some things!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely little snapshots from history but the swearing and crude language was too much for me. Cleomotherf*ckingpatrais is unnecessary in my book. I know, the title says it all but still.

[Mickey Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darkly hilarious, deliciously crude, and highly educational, this informative book seems to turn its own pages as it drags you unwittingly, yet willingly along. School did us a great disservice by omitting these sordid details of our past. Thankfully, The Captain is here to rectify that.
Would you like to know more? Then do what I did; order it today (if you haven't already), and when it arrives, pour yourself a serving of bourbon, turn on your favorite source of background noise (I like the mood set by the sound of my old, rickety fan), and let this book take you on a tour down the back alleys of history. That's at least what I did. You could do it with a wine cooler, or even vodka if you'd like. But please, just do it. You'll be glad you did.

P.S.- Even now as I write this review I see that he has written others. With devious delight I'm about to order another one. I still have a bottle of bourbon that needs drinking.

[Jenni V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book on accident in our library's catalog while searching for something else which ended up being appropriate because this is a great example of why I love the library. I gave it a shot since it was free and the read passed the time but it's not something I would've purchased.

I read this on vacation and it was perfect to read in snippets, occasionally aloud. I don't mind language but some of the swears felt forced in the beginning, like he was trying too hard to match the theme of the book.

My favorite "lesson" is that the stethoscope was invented in 1816 by a doctor who didn't want to have to press his head against his female patients' breasts to hear their heartbeat.

Find all my reviews at: https://readingatrandom.blogspot.com

[Bryan Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good bathroom book, and not just because of all the scatological references. Basically, a frat bro paid enough attention in history class to put together a collection of 111 historical morsels beefed up to two pages each by koanic asides of Dude Philosophy interspersed with jokes about girls, cats, and getting wasted. An inordinate amount of these anecdotes revolve around women who were unexpectedly violent for their historical time and place (which is, of course, very "badass" to The Captain), and, while it's good to address the short shrift women have gotten throughout much of recorded history, it did get a bit repetitive to read.