501 Things YOU Should Have Learned About History

by Alison Rattle, Alex Woolf

A fast read - facts and information about famous historical events

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Unfinished

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2012

About the author

Alison Rattle grew up in Liverpool, and now lives in a medieval house in Somerset with her three teenage children, her partner - a carpenter - an extremely naughty Jack Russell and a ghost cat. She has co-authored a number of non-fiction titles on subjects as diverse as growing old, mad monarchs, how to boil a flamingo, the history of America and the biography of a nineteenth-century baby killer. She has worked as a fashion designer, a production controller, a painter and decorator, a barmaid, and now owns and runs a vintage tea room.

Reviews

[Omari · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this book was really interesting with the fast facts but I didn’t finish when I realized just how Eurocentric it is. You get through about 4,000 years without hearing much about Africa (other than a little of Egypt) or South America until Columbus “discovered” the New World. There’s a lot of interesting information but considering the book is supposed to tell me things I should have learned, it mostly just reminded me of the things I did learn in History class.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an alright book. It was fun in some ways and I learned a few things, but I can't say as I learned anything new related to ancient history or military history. My own personal delving into history has managed to go deeper in those subjects than the writers of this book did. This is a hard one to classify. I think I would recommend it for someone looking for something light that they could read and possibly something that they could stretch out over six or eight months. Because the things in here done in short snippets they're ideal for the person who takes that long to read a book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting if brief account of historical events although I suspect some of the “fast facts’ are more myth than fact. On a couple instances an event was mentioned with no explanation as to what it was. Overall a good summary.

[Rachel Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Som vanligt fokusering på europeiskt historia. Mitt i boken ändrades texten från svenska till engelska. Majoriteten visste man redan. Hade önskat mer världshistoria än bara europeisk!

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It should have been titled “History of Wars”. It is sad how much of the history of the world is tied up in war. Just an ok read.

[Oleksandr Lisik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Більшість історій - війни. Багато різних рандомних фактів (ніби цікаві, але ніколи не пригодяться). Просто дуууже поверхневий огляд війн і деяких важливих подій Західного Світу.

[Ульяна Домачук · Rating 2 out of 5]

не понравилось

[Manny Villa · Rating 4 out of 5]

398342

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

398342

[Uladzislau Ulasenka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книга перевершила очікування. Дізнався багато нового. Цікаво поглянути на історію під кутом вченої з Ліверпуля.

[Alexander Mynzak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книга для тих, хто вже щось знає про історію й хотів би освіжити в памʼяті певні факти. Якби не формат книги та ілюстрації, то це б я не читав.

[ReGina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a little like World History for Dummies with Obscure & Random Facts Too. It starts with the Pyramids of Giza and goes straight to Barack Obama. Each major historical event has a detailed summary, including causes and major occurrences. I love the fun facts as well, which are sure to add some new information for even the most seasoned history buff. As most history books are, it is very European/American-centric. However, it is not solely so, so some credit needs to be given on that front too. This is a great reference book for those times when you just can't remember why the Thirty Years War started or what year Germany sank the Lusitania. For those people who either didn't pay attention in World History or didn't get to cover much of anything past the American Revolution, this is a great book to have.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I'm college educated but didn't pay attention to any history other than what I could use in my D&D game. This had hilarious stuff like animals being tried for witchcraft but also things I should have known the details of like Watergate, the Cuban Missile Crisis etc...

I feel like by reading these short synopsis about these 100's of events was time well spent and much more effective than taking a history class or reading more in-depth books that concentrate on just a couple topics.

Definitely suggested for the history class sleepers out there.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Прочитала десь дві третини книги, але зрештою кинула.
Я думала, що отримаю повноцінне уявлення про світову історію, цього не сталося. Але добре, можливо у мене завищені очікування до книги, де у назві написано, що це лише окремі факти.
Крім цього, я та людина, яка все старається гуглити і у цій книжці це зручно було робити одразу після кожного факту. Мене дуже дратувала часто неправильне написання власних назв, через які знайти якесь місце було важче, а іноді й не вдавалося.

[J.C. Wing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun history book, filled with little tidbits and fun facts mixed in with important dates and interesting pictures and illustrations. I see there is a whole collection of 501 Things...I will have to collect them all.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for recalling points in history. The fast facts are informative, short and to the point. In our home we use it as a bathroom reader. You'd be surprised what my guests come out of the bathroom talking about. Maybe now I should sanitize the book?

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some cool random facts, but needs more oomph! Pretty cover though.

[Samantha Mix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book! I learned quite a bit and am looking forward to reading the other books in this series.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of fun...Made me laugh : )

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you can't read whole paragraphs the fast facts are fascinating!