Good toilet reading
That's right, it's good toilet reading! I like this book for one reason--it's very simple and easy to read, and the chapters are short. Nothing too deep here. But I do put a wrning on this book: NOT for those who are not familiar with world history! Why? I feel the book is kind of impressionable, and not always in a good way. While Shenkmans whole point seems to be to question everything we have been taught about history, it is rather 3rd grade stuff. For instance, the book makes a big deal about Rousseau being hard to get along with, as well as his less than fatherly attitudes towards his children. This is pretty common knowledge and really doesn't say much about his works or philosophy. The book also tends to draw judgements about people based upon a single statement or action they made. There is a lot of certainty at times, such as in his chapters about antiquity, when the reality is, there are a lot of points that are hazy. The book also spends time (for what reason) on mythic figures like Robin Hood and Frankenstein.
The reason I say stay away for the non-historian is that without a very critical notion of history, you will get the wrong idea, but it's still fun to read.
Best history book ever!
This book is about history that we were never taught in school. True history is discussed in this book.
Biased, but still a good read
I have fond memories of reading this as a child and, although I certainly can't agree with everything in the book, wholly recommend it if for nothing else than a breath of fresh air in a overly PC world. Oh, it's a good read as well.
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