Preview
  • Humans

  • A Brief History of How We F--ked It All Up
  • By: Tom Phillips
  • Narrated by: Nish Kumar
  • Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (50 ratings)

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Humans

By: Tom Phillips
Narrated by: Nish Kumar
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Publisher's summary

'This book is brilliant. Utterly, utterly brilliant' Jeremy Clarkson

'F--king brilliant' Sarah Knight

READ FOR YOU BY CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED COMIC AND HUMAN NISH KUMAR, THIS IS AN EXHILARATING JOURNEY THROUGH THE MOST CREATIVE AND CATASTROPHIC F--K-UPS OF HUMAN HISTORY.

In the seventy thousand years that modern human beings have walked this earth, we've come a long way. Art, science, culture, trade - on the evolutionary food chain, we're real winners. But, frankly, it's not exactly been plain sailing, and sometimes - just occasionally - we've managed to really, truly, quite unbelievably f--k things up.

From Chairman Mao's Four Pests Campaign, to the American Dustbowl; from the Austrian army attacking itself one drunken night, to the world's leading superpower electing a reality TV mogul as President... it's pretty safe to say that, as a species, we haven't exactly grown wiser with age.

So, next time you think you've really f--ked up, this book will remind you: it could be so much worse...


FURTHER PRAISE FOR HUMANS:

'Very funny' Mark Watson

'A light-touch history of moments when humans have got it spectacularly wrong... Both readable and entertaining' The Telegraph

'Chronicles humanity's myriad follies down the ages with malicious glee and much wit ... a rib-tickling page-turner' Business Standard

'A timely, irreverent gallop through thousands of years of human stupidity' Nicholas Griffin, Ping-Pong Diplomacy: The Secret History Behind the Game That Changed the World

©2018 Tom Phillips (P)2018 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
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What listeners say about Humans

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A must read!

A bit pessimist, but hey. Fucking up is what humans do. And we are so good at it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

History told in a compelling manner.

History viewed via human failure. Excellent narration. Compelling and witty. I was sad it ended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!!

This book is brilliant, a must listen. Very well written and narrated. Finished it in 3 days as could not stop listening to it.

10/10, best book I have listened to this year.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Deeply troubling, but humorously told.

we should spend more time learning from history, rather than charging headfirst into the mistakes of the future. Well written, excellent performance and well researched. Listen, think and learn.

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1 person found this helpful

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Highly enjoyable

Brilliant choice of narrator. Very interesting book: it will be interesting to see how the future of the world plays out now that we’ve been effectively warned that if we continue doing what we’re doing, we will not have learnt anything from history.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Awful. Deplorably bad. Cynical rant.

Author takes some interesting historic factoids and uses them to rant about "what a bunch of idiots" did throughout history. The narrator is straight from a late night UK comedy club. This book shows how to look at history through a sneering cynical lens. I should have guessed from the title, but for some reason I was expecting humourous insights rather that sneering cynicism.

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