The Pessimist's Guide to History 3e

Doris Flexner, Stuart Berg Flexner

ISBN 10: 006143101X / ISBN 13: 9780061431012

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Inc, US, 2008

About this Item

18 million or so years ago, the Big Bang exploded onto the scene and it's all been downhill from there. Now, for every spectacular discovery throughout history, there have been a hundred devastating epidemics; for every benevolent despot, a thousand like Vlad the Impaler; for every cup half-full, a larger cup half-empty. In a world filled with catastrophe, "The Pessimist's Guide to History" is an entertaining timeline bringing to light the darkest events in history so far.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780061431012

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Pessimist's Guide to History 3e
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc, US
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 006143101X
• ISBN 13: 9780061431012
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 363 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The classic irreverent look at the past—now updated with even more appalling facts!

Fourteen billion or so years ago, the Big Bang exploded—and it's been downhill from there. For every spectacular discovery throughout history, there have been hundreds of devastating epidemics; for every benevolent despot, a thousand like Vlad the Impaler; for every cup half-full, a larger cup half-empty. This enthralling, enlightening, and devilishly entertaining chronicle of disasters and dastardly deeds brings to light the darkest events in history and the most abysmal calamities to strike the planet . . . so far.

88 BC: Mithridates VI Eupator provides an early example of genocide by massacring 100,000 Romans.

1347: Saint Vitus' Dance Epidemic shimmies across Europe like a deadly disco fever, leaving its victims twitching, uncontrollably leaping, and foaming at the mouth.

1888: Jack the Ripper stalks through the dark alleys of Whitechapel, England, turning the world's oldest profession into the world's most dangerous one.

1939: A Swiss chemist wins a Nobel Prize for developing DDT—and the environment gets another nail in the coffin.

2005: Hurricane Katrina devastates the Gulf Coast. In a classic double whammy, the government response also devastates the Gulf Coast.

And much, much more!

About the Author

Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner are popular reference historians. Doris Flexner, who did all the updates on this book, is also the author of The Optimist's Guide to History. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC.