What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mental Floss History of the United States: The (Almost) Complete and (Entirely) Entertaining Story of America
Smarter than your old history teacher, funnier than the founding fathers, and more American than apple pie, The Mental Floss History of the United States is an almost (but not entirely) comprehensive primer on American history (or at least, the good stuff). From the editors of MentalFloss.com and mental_floss magazine—with its “Feel smart again”—comes an American History text packed with hilarious (but true!) trivia written in the smart-aleck tradition of The Mental Floss History of the World, Mental Floss Presents In the Beginning, and the first mental_floss book, Condensed Knowledge. Perfect for trivia buffs, history lovers, college students, and anyone who likes to laugh and learn. United States history has never been so fun.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2008
264 people are currently reading
1204 people want to read
About the author
Mental Floss
36 books29 followersMental Floss (also credited as mental_floss) is a trivia and humor magazine.
mental_floss is a bi-monthly American magazine, launched in 2001 in Birmingham, Alabama, that presents facts and trivia in a humorous way. MentalFloss.com is also host to a popular blog, which contains additional trivia, features, and interesting news articles.
mental_floss is a bi-monthly American magazine, launched in 2001 in Birmingham, Alabama, that presents facts and trivia in a humorous way. MentalFloss.com is also host to a popular blog, which contains additional trivia, features, and interesting news articles.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
June 21, 2024
Not nearly as much fun as
History of the World.
The struggle was real to plod through this, perhaps because there wasn't as much history to cover and thus, what is covered is in greater, more cringeworthy, detail. The fact that it was published nearly 20 years ago doesn't help; we were all sweet summer children in our belief that Dubya was the worst president we'd ever have, and a kind of smug arrogance really ruins the last section of the book. Major World Events have happened since 2008 that make this feel like an incredibly shortsighted read today.
For a book that claims to be an entertaining history, there is also surprisingly little entertainment history. I really expected more coverage of pop culture and it was disappointing that it mostly covered the various wars instead.
For a book that claims to be an entertaining history, there is also surprisingly little entertainment history. I really expected more coverage of pop culture and it was disappointing that it mostly covered the various wars instead.
November 19, 2015
This history book (as with all history books) needs to be read with a grain of salt. I found several date errors which made me wonder how many other mistakes this book had. I thought the pacing of this book was odd--it seemed to focus on aspects of history that weren't that significant or shaping while skating over more influential events. It did have some interesting facts/stories that I hadn't heard before and the sarcasm was amusing.
March 20, 2017
Lots of humor and simplifying of American history. A good introduction to many subjects that encourage a reader to dig deeper and learn more. A good, fun, informative read.
April 29, 2013
I've always felt that history should be taught with humor and simplicity, sprinkling dates once in a while only when its absolutely necessary; this way, many won't succumb to the drowsiness that hits every couple of pages when reading said genre. Out of these three aspects (Humor, Simplicity, and Facts), "The Mental Floss..." succeeds on delivering the latter two, and about half of the first.
Regarding its comedic aspect, this book sure contains its fair number of jokes, but most of them will make you giggle, if not less. While I expected the book to contain a wide variety of jokes derived from the many years of American history, they actually follow a structure which usually involves one-liners in parenthesis. Ex: "...as their experts called it, 'Manifest Destiny' ('Mass murder?' - No: 'Manifest Destiny!')". And while these tidbits of humor help lightening the load, some lack originality or are even expected.
The other two aspects are expertly covered, describing to the reader historical events on average terms without much complexity. My only complain about these two traits had to deal with how the authors deal with numerical comparisons. Those who have read this book will certainly understand, for the last 250 pages are riddled with data shaped as: "Population of X in 1990, to Z in 1998" or "Spending of A in 1939, to a huge B in 1945". These comparisons were quite tedious by the end of the book, and while they sure work to give the reader an idea of what was going on during a certain time period, the amount of data exposed on the last couple of chapters is superfluous.
Leaving this only two complaints aside, the book as a whole is a great way to start reading on American History and to understand the current state of the country. Skimming from period to period, "The Mental Floss.." helps those new to the genre by proving that reading about the past doesn't necessarily involve a mindless spill of dates, events, and facts. My only warning goes to those deeply involved on historical reading: if you are looking for a book that explains the whole history of the U.S. from A to Z, look somewhere else; this book is just too skinny-on-the-details for you.
Regarding its comedic aspect, this book sure contains its fair number of jokes, but most of them will make you giggle, if not less. While I expected the book to contain a wide variety of jokes derived from the many years of American history, they actually follow a structure which usually involves one-liners in parenthesis. Ex: "...as their experts called it, 'Manifest Destiny' ('Mass murder?' - No: 'Manifest Destiny!')". And while these tidbits of humor help lightening the load, some lack originality or are even expected.
The other two aspects are expertly covered, describing to the reader historical events on average terms without much complexity. My only complain about these two traits had to deal with how the authors deal with numerical comparisons. Those who have read this book will certainly understand, for the last 250 pages are riddled with data shaped as: "Population of X in 1990, to Z in 1998" or "Spending of A in 1939, to a huge B in 1945". These comparisons were quite tedious by the end of the book, and while they sure work to give the reader an idea of what was going on during a certain time period, the amount of data exposed on the last couple of chapters is superfluous.
Leaving this only two complaints aside, the book as a whole is a great way to start reading on American History and to understand the current state of the country. Skimming from period to period, "The Mental Floss.." helps those new to the genre by proving that reading about the past doesn't necessarily involve a mindless spill of dates, events, and facts. My only warning goes to those deeply involved on historical reading: if you are looking for a book that explains the whole history of the U.S. from A to Z, look somewhere else; this book is just too skinny-on-the-details for you.
December 13, 2012
This really should be required reading for anyone living in the U.S.
Granted, the author(s) give you a definite answer on a lot of ambiguous/subjective questions in American history, so this shouldn't be one's only source. But each of those definite answers is presented with consideration of the major players' points-of-view, as well as rather convincing documented facts. The explanations were entertaining and logically explained, leaving me thinking on several occasions: "why didn't they say it that way in school?!"
The titles of sections and graphs had clever, funny titles, and the flow of the structure was easy to follow. Plus, I was actually hooked, knowing what would be discussed next, and looking forward to having my curiosity slaked.
Highly recommended. And an amazingly quick read.
Granted, the author(s) give you a definite answer on a lot of ambiguous/subjective questions in American history, so this shouldn't be one's only source. But each of those definite answers is presented with consideration of the major players' points-of-view, as well as rather convincing documented facts. The explanations were entertaining and logically explained, leaving me thinking on several occasions: "why didn't they say it that way in school?!"
The titles of sections and graphs had clever, funny titles, and the flow of the structure was easy to follow. Plus, I was actually hooked, knowing what would be discussed next, and looking forward to having my curiosity slaked.
Highly recommended. And an amazingly quick read.
January 1, 2016
I am halfway through the book so this may change. So far, the authors would have the readers believe that women played no part in United States history except the occasional mention of daring fashion trends. I guess that's all women had to contribute to the building of this great nation up to the 1920's, which is the part I'm currently reading about. thank you, men, for doing everything for us!
This is nowhere nearly as interesting as the Mental Floss History of the World. It is a chore to get through.
This is nowhere nearly as interesting as the Mental Floss History of the World. It is a chore to get through.
August 30, 2014
I would give it a higher review except for its terrible summary of the Alamo. Didn't even mention William Travis as the leader.
Still a very interesting read and recommended for interesting tidbits of uncommon knowledge. Recommended.
Still a very interesting read and recommended for interesting tidbits of uncommon knowledge. Recommended.
July 4, 2020
A good quick read. Some surprises in there. Big focus on 20th century, which I liked. Recent history often gets short shrift.
Things I learned: Abe Lincoln censored my home town paper during the civil war. Al Gore does deserve a lot of credit for the internet.
Things I learned: Abe Lincoln censored my home town paper during the civil war. Al Gore does deserve a lot of credit for the internet.
August 24, 2019
If you ever wondered what would happen if a history book and an aspiring advertising copywriter portfolio were mashed together, here’s your answer.
It would benefit from more depth and less desperation to be ‘cool.’
It would benefit from more depth and less desperation to be ‘cool.’
December 20, 2010
Random facts. Most of which I did not know. Did you know that Jimmy Carter was the first president to be born in a hospital? WTF.
June 28, 2018
this is a decent history book and funny at times.
April 8, 2020
Very good compete history of the United States
July 4, 2020
When an author can't get right the fact the movie "All The Right Moves" is about FOOTBALL and not basketball, you start to question the validity of anything he's said in the book. It even shows Tom Cruise holding a football on the movie poster! How much fact checking is there?
Now you may be asking, "Why is he talking about 'All The Right Moves'?" And that's a very good question. This book is all over the place. It's an entertaining read at times, but you start to see a bias towards different topics as you read. During these trying times, race has been an important topic and the author brings race relations up quite a few times throughout the book, which was published in 2010 (or at least my copy - could have been reprinted).
It's not all about politics but rather all kinds of important figures and trends throughout the United States history, which makes sense. However, I disagree with the inclusion of things like a rather lengthy passage on serial killers. It didn't feel like it belonged in the book at all and they could have talked more about other topics during that period. So many things feel glossed over, but yet I got a good chunk of book dedicated to jazz music (yuck). The author does state in the title it's "ALMOST complete", so I guess I can't complain too much.
I think the best part of the book was the last couple chapters. Even though it's history I personally have lived, I learned some things I had not heard before and was surprised to find the author took a rather non-biased look at both sides of the issues.
There's a quote at the beginning of the book from Ringo Starr which states: "So this is America. They must be out of their minds." I would say this quote seems to summarize the book pretty well. While the book celebrates American achievement and innovation from time to time, it also tends to portray many historical figures as megalomaniacs. Is it a fair portrayal? Perhaps. But whether we have all the facts, as I pointed out at the beginning, is a different story.
Now you may be asking, "Why is he talking about 'All The Right Moves'?" And that's a very good question. This book is all over the place. It's an entertaining read at times, but you start to see a bias towards different topics as you read. During these trying times, race has been an important topic and the author brings race relations up quite a few times throughout the book, which was published in 2010 (or at least my copy - could have been reprinted).
It's not all about politics but rather all kinds of important figures and trends throughout the United States history, which makes sense. However, I disagree with the inclusion of things like a rather lengthy passage on serial killers. It didn't feel like it belonged in the book at all and they could have talked more about other topics during that period. So many things feel glossed over, but yet I got a good chunk of book dedicated to jazz music (yuck). The author does state in the title it's "ALMOST complete", so I guess I can't complain too much.
I think the best part of the book was the last couple chapters. Even though it's history I personally have lived, I learned some things I had not heard before and was surprised to find the author took a rather non-biased look at both sides of the issues.
There's a quote at the beginning of the book from Ringo Starr which states: "So this is America. They must be out of their minds." I would say this quote seems to summarize the book pretty well. While the book celebrates American achievement and innovation from time to time, it also tends to portray many historical figures as megalomaniacs. Is it a fair portrayal? Perhaps. But whether we have all the facts, as I pointed out at the beginning, is a different story.
March 23, 2023
This book is billed as being a funnier, more accurate telling of US history than other text books and history teachers. I've been a US history teacher for many years, and have used several mental floss articles on a variety of subjects. They are short, on topic and easy for kids to understand. That is the major reason I got this book.
I was a bit let down by its execution, though. It is severely lacking in the promised humor. I only had a chuckle or two at the pun filled titles of sections. It skips over some eras in history very quickly (doing the Civil War in about 5 pages), but then devotes an unnecessarily large amount of space to other subjects (like the AIDS epidemic - also about 5 pages). Overall, the final 100 pages is devoted to the last 50 years, which seems like a bit too deep of a dive for a book that claims to be about all of US history. There were also a few factual errors.
I was a bit let down by its execution, though. It is severely lacking in the promised humor. I only had a chuckle or two at the pun filled titles of sections. It skips over some eras in history very quickly (doing the Civil War in about 5 pages), but then devotes an unnecessarily large amount of space to other subjects (like the AIDS epidemic - also about 5 pages). Overall, the final 100 pages is devoted to the last 50 years, which seems like a bit too deep of a dive for a book that claims to be about all of US history. There were also a few factual errors.
April 15, 2019
It was pretty entertaining and a good review of what happened in US history, I respect enjoyed the parts about culture. But, as I mentioned in the earlier updates while I was reading, the "Lies your teacher told you" sections were really annoying. It was full of the author's opinions or otherwise his insinuation that schools are teaching simplistic history of generalizations where everything only has one cause or one simple explanation. (I'm a history teacher. I have the right to be annoyed).
December 25, 2024
Despite being billed as a light, comedic read, this tongue-in-cheek essay on America is eye-opening and strikingly depressing. As the post-World War II era begins, you’re there as the grip of greed (read=money) takes over and crushes every aspect of our society. Then comes the internet and social media, and folks, we’re doomed. Tightly written and researched, this comedy material is the true definition of a tragedy.
December 9, 2020
My only complaint is that they do not have any footnotes or sources. No suggested reading either. So there is no way you can use this for any academic purpose. Other than that its just a simple overview of US history. The best part of every chapter is the "Lies Your Teacher Told You" which directly corrects false information you may have been taught at school.
August 28, 2022
A fun romp through American history, from Lief Erikson to Barack Obama (was published in 2010, so nothing on the last craptacular decade). Like most Mental Floss material, it reads intelligently without sounding like a textbook. I actually learned a couple things.
Not to be confused with The Mental Floss History of the World, which I did accidentally confuse, but no regrets.
Not to be confused with The Mental Floss History of the World, which I did accidentally confuse, but no regrets.
July 23, 2025
Quick look
A concise outline of important moments in American history with some analysis and mythbusting. Stops at 2010, but I'd like to read an updated version on about 2030. I read a or of history, but I'm not an expert. It does seem balanced and objective, and is not clouded by speculation and interpretation.
A concise outline of important moments in American history with some analysis and mythbusting. Stops at 2010, but I'd like to read an updated version on about 2030. I read a or of history, but I'm not an expert. It does seem balanced and objective, and is not clouded by speculation and interpretation.
October 23, 2018
Was expecting something more along the line of trivia, but it was more like a youth-oriented Zinn. Knew most of it already, but doesn't hurt to get booster. I don't like it much when sidebars interrupt the narrative, though.
May 19, 2022
I enjoyed the jaunty tone and small details. Having been a young teen during the Nixon years I had forgotten, if I ever knew, that some conservatives opposed him for being too liberal on social issues. That amuses me now.
March 22, 2023
This was a good book. I enjoyed the author's "out of the box" approach to a lot of historical topics. As a history teacher, I enjoyed seeing new bits of information that could be tied into lessons. Overall, very satisfied with the read and looking forward to their world history book next.
July 30, 2023
A wonderful primer on American history. While it’s never been my favorite subject, despite having some amazing teachers, I tore through this in a few days, learned a ton, and was thoroughly engaged the entire time.
April 10, 2024
I was very interested in the quirky and approachable history they were providing. Then I realized they softballed Nathan Bedford Forrest's role in forming the Klu Klux Klan. I'm not sure what their motivation was for that, but it raises questions for me about the veracity of the rest of the book.
May 31, 2017
Light, but informative reading. Learned some new stuff.
July 20, 2017
A diverting, refreshing take on US history, although not as 'entertaining' as it claims. Mildly amusing at best.
February 17, 2018
Very funny☺
June 15, 2018
A good brush-up, but I think needed more focus on US before the 20th century.
July 12, 2018
This book had me in stitches! It takes you through American history in a blunt, hilarious manner!
August 15, 2018
A very low 4 due to some suspect conclusions. A good starting point though for those who avoid history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews