What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rest is History: History's Most Curious Questions Answered
Make room Herodotus, stand down Bede, pipe down Pepys... there's a new history book in town.
From the chart-topping podcast The Rest is History, a whistle-stop tour through the past - from Alexander the Great to Tolkein, the Wars of the Roses to Watergate. The nation's favourite historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn't even think to ask:
- Did the Trojan War actually happen?
- What was the most disastrous party in history?
- Was Richard Nixon more like Caligula or Claudius?
- How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill's cover?
- Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from Atlantis?
Whether it is sending historical figures to Casa Amor in a series of Love Island, ranking history's most famous eunuchs and pigeons (including Winky, the unsung hero of the Second World War), or debating the meaning of greatness, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick. So run your Egyptian milk bath, strap up your best Spartan sandals, and prepare for a journey down the highways and byways of the human past...
From the chart-topping podcast The Rest is History, a whistle-stop tour through the past - from Alexander the Great to Tolkein, the Wars of the Roses to Watergate. The nation's favourite historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn't even think to ask:
- Did the Trojan War actually happen?
- What was the most disastrous party in history?
- Was Richard Nixon more like Caligula or Claudius?
- How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill's cover?
- Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from Atlantis?
Whether it is sending historical figures to Casa Amor in a series of Love Island, ranking history's most famous eunuchs and pigeons (including Winky, the unsung hero of the Second World War), or debating the meaning of greatness, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick. So run your Egyptian milk bath, strap up your best Spartan sandals, and prepare for a journey down the highways and byways of the human past...
437 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2023
510 people are currently reading
2570 people want to read
About the author
Tom Holland
103 books3,474 followersTom Holland is an English historian and author. He has written many books, both fiction and non-fiction, on many subjects from vampires to history.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Holland was born near Oxford and brought up in the village of Broadchalke near Salisbury, England. He obtained a double first in English and Latin at Queens' College, Cambridge, and afterwards studied shortly for a PhD at Oxford, taking Lord Byron as his subject, before interrupting the post graduate studies and moving to London.
He has adapted Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio 4. His novels, including Attis and Deliver Us From Evil, mostly have a supernatural and horror element as well as being set in the past. He is also the author of three highly praised works of history, Rubicon, Persian Fire and Millennium.
He is on the committee of the Society of Authors and the Classical Association.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Holland was born near Oxford and brought up in the village of Broadchalke near Salisbury, England. He obtained a double first in English and Latin at Queens' College, Cambridge, and afterwards studied shortly for a PhD at Oxford, taking Lord Byron as his subject, before interrupting the post graduate studies and moving to London.
He has adapted Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio 4. His novels, including Attis and Deliver Us From Evil, mostly have a supernatural and horror element as well as being set in the past. He is also the author of three highly praised works of history, Rubicon, Persian Fire and Millennium.
He is on the committee of the Society of Authors and the Classical Association.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
October 24, 2023
I'll start the review by admitting I am a MASSIVE fan of The Rest is History podcast so I was very excited to see a sample of the book, and it certainly didn't disappoint.
Those of us who are regular listeners will recognise some of the material as having been covered in the podcasts but that was fine by me - for example, I (very unexpectedly) loved the episode about pigeons and was really pleased to see it appear here. All sorts of subjects have been covered which I wouldn't expect to be particularly interested in normally but by the end I'm always hooked and it's the same with the book. It helps that both Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland are not only excellent communicators when they're discussing history, but both write superb books and that's reflected here. I particularly enjoyed guessing which of them was responsible for which section - I have my suspicions.
The writing style is very readable and very funny, with bite size chapters meaning it's a book you can pick up and open at random and always find something interesting. I'm less disciplined than that though - I have ordered the book (arriving today!) and know I will complete it in one sitting. It's a perfect book to buy as a gift too, for all sorts of ages. Hopefully this will be the first of many!
#TheRestisHistory #NetGalley
Those of us who are regular listeners will recognise some of the material as having been covered in the podcasts but that was fine by me - for example, I (very unexpectedly) loved the episode about pigeons and was really pleased to see it appear here. All sorts of subjects have been covered which I wouldn't expect to be particularly interested in normally but by the end I'm always hooked and it's the same with the book. It helps that both Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland are not only excellent communicators when they're discussing history, but both write superb books and that's reflected here. I particularly enjoyed guessing which of them was responsible for which section - I have my suspicions.
The writing style is very readable and very funny, with bite size chapters meaning it's a book you can pick up and open at random and always find something interesting. I'm less disciplined than that though - I have ordered the book (arriving today!) and know I will complete it in one sitting. It's a perfect book to buy as a gift too, for all sorts of ages. Hopefully this will be the first of many!
#TheRestisHistory #NetGalley
June 30, 2024
Good information but it just tried too hard to be cute.
November 7, 2023
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are drunk. Or at least, I assume they were drunk when they came up with the wonderfully random list of topics that became The Rest is History: The Book Not the Podcast (I came up with the subtitle myself).
Do you want to know who the best Australian Prime Minister? How about the worst dinner parties ever? What was St. Patrick's deal? How ridiculous is The Da Vinci Code? All of this information can be yours just by reading this fever dream of a history book. I laughed nearly every page. I learned nearly every page. If you have a sense of humor then this book is for you. If you kind of like history but get sleepy when you try to read it, then this is definitely for you.
Their list of the best dogs is absolute rubbish, though. Gelert is number one and it's not even close.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and PublicAffairs.)
Do you want to know who the best Australian Prime Minister? How about the worst dinner parties ever? What was St. Patrick's deal? How ridiculous is The Da Vinci Code? All of this information can be yours just by reading this fever dream of a history book. I laughed nearly every page. I learned nearly every page. If you have a sense of humor then this book is for you. If you kind of like history but get sleepy when you try to read it, then this is definitely for you.
Their list of the best dogs is absolute rubbish, though. Gelert is number one and it's not even close.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and PublicAffairs.)
February 23, 2025
Trying too hard to be funny, doesn’t hold a candle to the podcast. Triggered a month and a half reading slump
July 17, 2024
Entertaining in places but not in depth enough to be educational
August 8, 2024
Missed a lot of the British references. Would be better if you’re familiar with current UK culture and politics.
March 30, 2024
Terrific collection of unrelated snippets from history.
November 28, 2024
I was very pleased to unexpectedly find this book in Paper Plus the other day. My favourite podcast has a book, who knew. Not me anyway.
I only started listening to the rest is history pod a few months ago but it is easily my favourite. This book was written in the same kind of way they present the podcast, in a way that makes history interesting and exciting with some great British humour thrown in here and there. The book is sectioned into short chapters about different historical events, people etc.
I would highly recommend this book (and the podcast!!, my favourite episodes thus far was the 7 part series on the assassination of JFK, shock horror) to any other history lovers like myself. I have learnt so much since I have started listening to it, and the book also taught me a lot as well and I hope they continue to write more. Easy 5 stars ⭐️
I only started listening to the rest is history pod a few months ago but it is easily my favourite. This book was written in the same kind of way they present the podcast, in a way that makes history interesting and exciting with some great British humour thrown in here and there. The book is sectioned into short chapters about different historical events, people etc.
I would highly recommend this book (and the podcast!!, my favourite episodes thus far was the 7 part series on the assassination of JFK, shock horror) to any other history lovers like myself. I have learnt so much since I have started listening to it, and the book also taught me a lot as well and I hope they continue to write more. Easy 5 stars ⭐️
January 17, 2025
This collection of short, random, and creative chapters on random historical events and characters could only be compiled by The Rest is History guys and their patented combination of humor and expertise.
But unfortunately they are victims of their own success. Even this audiobook doesn’t compare to the podcast. Which I didn’t expect, but I was still a little disappointed. Some of the chapters were excellent, but I thought there were too many that weren’t engaging and lacked the usual intrigue that the two hosts provide.
It’s still worth a listen, but be aware that you may experience the side effect of wanting to listen to the podcast instead.
But unfortunately they are victims of their own success. Even this audiobook doesn’t compare to the podcast. Which I didn’t expect, but I was still a little disappointed. Some of the chapters were excellent, but I thought there were too many that weren’t engaging and lacked the usual intrigue that the two hosts provide.
It’s still worth a listen, but be aware that you may experience the side effect of wanting to listen to the podcast instead.
February 10, 2024
Not sure what I was expecting, but I don't see what the point of this book is when it's more or less just abridged episodes of the podcast written down. Money I suppose.
January 18, 2025
3,5// Für Fans des Podcasts bestimmt sehr zu empfehlen, allerdings wird diesen hier auch nicht allzu viel neues geboten. Hatte mir etwas mehr erhofft, aber wenn man kapitalweise ein paar unterhaltsame Dinge über Geschichte lernen möchte ist es ganz in Ordnung
May 27, 2025
Ja was leuk, maar ik ga dit niet meer lezen.
November 10, 2023
I've been listening to the podcast for a few years now, and I have read books by Sandbrook and by Holland. I enjoy the podcast, I have learned a lot from the books. This book, however, seems to combine the laddishness of the podcast with almost none of the fascinating history in the books. There's an attempt at humor in practically every line and if the history has to take a back seat to the Dad jokes, so be it.
There's no order in the book, so that a World War II story follows a medieval account, and is followed by an imaginary World Cup of the Gods. There are phony interviews with historical figures, more sports-like match-ups, top ten lists, and many references to TV shows and celebrities. It's pretty entertaining, but not terribly informative.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.
There's no order in the book, so that a World War II story follows a medieval account, and is followed by an imaginary World Cup of the Gods. There are phony interviews with historical figures, more sports-like match-ups, top ten lists, and many references to TV shows and celebrities. It's pretty entertaining, but not terribly informative.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.
April 27, 2024
This probably seemed like a good idea. The Rest is History is a very popular podcast - now closing in on 500 episodes. Its strengths are the banter between presenters Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland allied to a base in bringing history to a wider audience.
But what works aurally doesn't work on the printed page. Instead of multiple episodes devoted to a particular topic or person, we get lists of sightings of the Loch Ness monster, and top 10 lists of eunuchs, What Ifs and disastrous parties. The banter between the presenters is replaced by schoolboy gags and it all seems terribly forced.
Given the success of the podcast, I can understand why they thought a book would build the brand. But, sadly, it doesn't. Stick to the podcast, lads.
But what works aurally doesn't work on the printed page. Instead of multiple episodes devoted to a particular topic or person, we get lists of sightings of the Loch Ness monster, and top 10 lists of eunuchs, What Ifs and disastrous parties. The banter between the presenters is replaced by schoolboy gags and it all seems terribly forced.
Given the success of the podcast, I can understand why they thought a book would build the brand. But, sadly, it doesn't. Stick to the podcast, lads.
March 16, 2025
"When history appears in the news these days, it's often as a subject of ferocious contestation. Statues pulled down, memorials ripped out, textbooks rewritten, hands wrung, brows furrowed - you know the drill. But we don't go in for any of that. -- We actually enjoy history - not something, in my experience, which is true of all historians. We love telling the stories of the people who lived and died before us from the Victorian Hero General Gordon to the Korean courtesan, Hwang Jini."
4,5/5!
The Rest is History is written by the historian hosts of the popular history podcast of the same name. On its pages, Holland and Sanbrook introduce their reader to some wacky and lesser-known stories of history – all sorts of things from the history of Canadian beavers to the story of Abram Petrovitch Gannibal, a Cameroonian slave who ended up a respected Russian general. This is a perfect book for those who think history is boring – Holland and Sandbrook are bound to prove you wrong.
I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh out loud many times and I learned so much: I now have new little facts to delight (or annoy) those around me. Even though I love my academic, thick biographies and historical studies, on occasion I like reading something like this, which makes history funny, quirky and doesn't take itself too seriously while also delivering the reader with proper, trustworthy information. Holland and Sandbrook tell these stories in really imaginative ways - there is a world cup of prime ministers, a historical Love Island and so much more - but that doesn't make this book any less reliable or accurate. As I said earlier, I think this is the kind of history book even someone who thinks history is, in general, quite boring, could enjoy – the language is easy, the chapters are very short and the range of topics is huge.
One of the things I most liked about this book was how it didn't focus too much on just one type of history. I think there is an emphasis on political history, but there is also stories of eunuchs, mistresses, childbirth, dogs, beavers, folklore, gods and so on. As someone who doesn't really care about, say, British or Australian prime ministers, I still enjoyed those chapters, because of the way Holland and Sandbrook wrote. I appreciated their emphasis on making sure we all know these people who did big things – good and bad – were simply human: they give us their political feats but also, oftentimes ridiculous, stories of their scandals and personal lives. You can find something to enjoy in this book, no matter what type of history you enjoy reading/researching/studying.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history, whether you are an experienced researcher or a casual reader – it's really fun. I will definitely pick up the second book in this "series". The main reason as to why this was 4,5/5 and not 5/5 was that, naturally, some chapters weren't as up my alley as some and because some of the more imaginative ways they decided to tell these stories hindered my ability to really connect with what was being said - a good example of this is the Margaret Thatcher's letter about the Falkland War.
Here are some fun / interesting facts I learned:
- The heroic carrier-pigeon, Cher Ami, was awarded the Croux de Guerre after the First World War for its services.
- Both Brits and Germans used pigeons to deliver messages in WWII – to prevent German pigeon spies from flying back with valuable intel, the Brits trained falcons to kill them, but unfortunately, the falcons only ever killed British pigeons (they were unable to separate the loyal patriotic pigeon from the scheming Nazi pigeon).
- When constantly warring with the French (1700s, 1800s and so on), the Brits developed a patriotic idea of the beef steak and how one cooks it (you had to cook it the right way, not the bad french way) - there were Beefsteak clubs and in order to get into some of them you had to wear a blue coat with buttons that said "Beef and liberty".
- The 1st photograph of the Loch Ness Monster was published in 1933.
- 99% of Jewish people in Denmark survived the war - the Danish worked together, pretty much as a country, to save the lives of 7743 Jews and they threatened serious revolts if the Nazis didn't treat the ones they managed to capture well, which the Nazis agreed to do, because a lot of their food came from Denmark.
- In the 18th century around 5000 families a year castrated a son to make him a castrato-singer, which was a rather lucrative business.
- Between 1797–1897 there were around 10 000 deaths worldwide in theatre fire accidents because dancers' tutus caught fire.
- Tolkien originally considered naming Frodo Bingo Bolger-Baggins and Aragorn Trotter.
- Admiral Collingwood of the British navy had a dog he loved called Bounce which accompanied him in his travels - whenever Bounce got scared, Collingwood sang to him doggy versions of Shakespeare's lullabies. When Bounce drowned, he was given a sea burial with a tiny coffin covered by the Union Jack flag. This story made me cry.
- In the 17th century, several european countries and First Nations tribes fought in the Beaver Wars, which resulted in Canadian beavers nearly going extinct.
- To legitimize her rule in Egypt, Hatshepsut purposefully blurred her own gender as well as that of her father. She wore men's clothing and a fake beard, and referred to her dad as a Goddess. As a gender historian, all this was fascinating!
- The man who Jeremy Thorpe hired to kill his former lover, Norman Scott, ended up accidentally shooting Norman's dog rather than Norman himself. This story also devastated me.
4,5/5!
The Rest is History is written by the historian hosts of the popular history podcast of the same name. On its pages, Holland and Sanbrook introduce their reader to some wacky and lesser-known stories of history – all sorts of things from the history of Canadian beavers to the story of Abram Petrovitch Gannibal, a Cameroonian slave who ended up a respected Russian general. This is a perfect book for those who think history is boring – Holland and Sandbrook are bound to prove you wrong.
I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh out loud many times and I learned so much: I now have new little facts to delight (or annoy) those around me. Even though I love my academic, thick biographies and historical studies, on occasion I like reading something like this, which makes history funny, quirky and doesn't take itself too seriously while also delivering the reader with proper, trustworthy information. Holland and Sandbrook tell these stories in really imaginative ways - there is a world cup of prime ministers, a historical Love Island and so much more - but that doesn't make this book any less reliable or accurate. As I said earlier, I think this is the kind of history book even someone who thinks history is, in general, quite boring, could enjoy – the language is easy, the chapters are very short and the range of topics is huge.
One of the things I most liked about this book was how it didn't focus too much on just one type of history. I think there is an emphasis on political history, but there is also stories of eunuchs, mistresses, childbirth, dogs, beavers, folklore, gods and so on. As someone who doesn't really care about, say, British or Australian prime ministers, I still enjoyed those chapters, because of the way Holland and Sandbrook wrote. I appreciated their emphasis on making sure we all know these people who did big things – good and bad – were simply human: they give us their political feats but also, oftentimes ridiculous, stories of their scandals and personal lives. You can find something to enjoy in this book, no matter what type of history you enjoy reading/researching/studying.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history, whether you are an experienced researcher or a casual reader – it's really fun. I will definitely pick up the second book in this "series". The main reason as to why this was 4,5/5 and not 5/5 was that, naturally, some chapters weren't as up my alley as some and because some of the more imaginative ways they decided to tell these stories hindered my ability to really connect with what was being said - a good example of this is the Margaret Thatcher's letter about the Falkland War.
Here are some fun / interesting facts I learned:
- The heroic carrier-pigeon, Cher Ami, was awarded the Croux de Guerre after the First World War for its services.
- Both Brits and Germans used pigeons to deliver messages in WWII – to prevent German pigeon spies from flying back with valuable intel, the Brits trained falcons to kill them, but unfortunately, the falcons only ever killed British pigeons (they were unable to separate the loyal patriotic pigeon from the scheming Nazi pigeon).
- When constantly warring with the French (1700s, 1800s and so on), the Brits developed a patriotic idea of the beef steak and how one cooks it (you had to cook it the right way, not the bad french way) - there were Beefsteak clubs and in order to get into some of them you had to wear a blue coat with buttons that said "Beef and liberty".
- The 1st photograph of the Loch Ness Monster was published in 1933.
- 99% of Jewish people in Denmark survived the war - the Danish worked together, pretty much as a country, to save the lives of 7743 Jews and they threatened serious revolts if the Nazis didn't treat the ones they managed to capture well, which the Nazis agreed to do, because a lot of their food came from Denmark.
- In the 18th century around 5000 families a year castrated a son to make him a castrato-singer, which was a rather lucrative business.
- Between 1797–1897 there were around 10 000 deaths worldwide in theatre fire accidents because dancers' tutus caught fire.
- Tolkien originally considered naming Frodo Bingo Bolger-Baggins and Aragorn Trotter.
- Admiral Collingwood of the British navy had a dog he loved called Bounce which accompanied him in his travels - whenever Bounce got scared, Collingwood sang to him doggy versions of Shakespeare's lullabies. When Bounce drowned, he was given a sea burial with a tiny coffin covered by the Union Jack flag. This story made me cry.
- In the 17th century, several european countries and First Nations tribes fought in the Beaver Wars, which resulted in Canadian beavers nearly going extinct.
- To legitimize her rule in Egypt, Hatshepsut purposefully blurred her own gender as well as that of her father. She wore men's clothing and a fake beard, and referred to her dad as a Goddess. As a gender historian, all this was fascinating!
- The man who Jeremy Thorpe hired to kill his former lover, Norman Scott, ended up accidentally shooting Norman's dog rather than Norman himself. This story also devastated me.
February 2, 2025
Wowza it takes me a while to read non-fiction doesn’t it. This was really funny though, was chuckling on the train. It’s like Horrible Histories for adults. My only complaint is that there’s a lot of overlap with the subject of the podcasts, but they can’t exactly make things up I guess…
December 4, 2024
Really annoying. I enjoy the podcasts but I am now scared that reading this will ruin them for me. The authors are constantly playing for laughs and rarely succeeding ; a series of possible interesting anecdotes rarely given enough serious attention to communicate interesting information.
April 27, 2024
Irreverent and firmly tongue-in-cheek, this look at history spans the periods between Cyrus of Persia and Margaret Thatcher of the U. K., and other assorted personages … based on a popular podcast by authors Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, this book plays hopscotch with history … silly, but fun
November 27, 2024
As a huge fan of the podcast, I was so happy when I received this book as a gift for Christmas!
Overall this is a fabulous book about random things throughout history. It is a non-serious interpretation of historical events and people!
I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend!
Overall this is a fabulous book about random things throughout history. It is a non-serious interpretation of historical events and people!
I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend!
April 13, 2025
Very readable and enjoyable! Could spend more time on the areas of particular interest. However, hard to compete either the podcast. Most chapters draw on podcast episodes so the comparison is clear, as is the conclusion on which comes out on top. Would still recommend as some fun light reading!
dnf
June 10, 2025DNF.
The humour didn’t quite land for me in book form, but I imagine it works better as a podcast (which I haven’t listened to yet!). I found myself losing focus and figured I’d stop before it dragged me into a slump 😫.
The humour didn’t quite land for me in book form, but I imagine it works better as a podcast (which I haven’t listened to yet!). I found myself losing focus and figured I’d stop before it dragged me into a slump 😫.
November 30, 2023
History gamified :)
February 7, 2024
So fun, so accessible! Let’s make all non fiction books just a little bit goofy going forward!
July 15, 2024
Very entertaining
September 25, 2024
Took me a while to get through this but as I’m new to the podcast I wanted to get more background before plowing through the book. Fun history read with loads of tidbits I wasn’t aware of.
October 19, 2024
one mention of james corden in a history book is unfortunate. two mentions of james corden in a history book is unforgivable.
December 5, 2024
Boring ghostwritten crap that, on top of not being funny, just rehashes podcast episodes. I am so glad I got this for £1.50 from a charity shop. It will be going right back there.
March 30, 2025
As a fan of their podcast, I absolutely loved this!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews