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The Mental Floss History of the World
- An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization's Best Bits
- Narrated by: Johny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
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Publisher's summary
Twelve core chapters of world history tackle everything from civilization's baby steps in the Fertile Crescent to the Not-Really-That-Dark-Unless-You-Lived-in-Europe Ages to A World United by Terror and TV. From the Golden Haemorhoids of the Philistines (punishment from above) to the likely namesake of the cartoon elephant Babar (a Mongol prince) to the most pressing language translation issues facing the menus of today ("carp" vs. "crap"), all of history's most interesting bits have finally been handpicked and roasted to perfection.
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Emigration of people from Sicily often overshadows the importance of the people who immigrated to the island through the centuries. These have included several who became Sicily's rulers, along with Jews, Ligurians, and Albanians. Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Hohenstaufens, Spaniards, Bourbons, the Savoy Kingdom of Italy and the modern era have all held sway, and left lasting influences on the island's culture and architecture.
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Surprisingly compelling!
- By P. Strayer on 08-25-12
By: Sandra Benjamin
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War! What Is It Good For?
- Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
- By: Ian Morris
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
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Surprising as it sounds, war has made humanity safer and richer. In War! What Is It Good For?, the renowned historian and archaeologist Ian Morris tells the gruesome, gripping story of 15,000 years of war, going beyond the battles and brutality to reveal what war has really done to and for the world. War, and war alone, has created bigger, more complex societies, ruled by governments that have stamped out internal violence.
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Not What I Expected At All!!!
- By Leonard on 12-12-14
By: Ian Morris
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World History
- Ancient History, United States History, European, Native American, Russian, Chinese, Asian, Indian and Australian History, Wars Including World War 1 and 2
- By: Adam Brown
- Narrated by: Sarah Moore
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
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Have you ever wondered how the world got to where it is today? Get ready to discover the rich history of our planet. You will be astonished to learn about some of the events that have occurred! Subjects include: Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, The Roman Empire, Constantine and Christianity, India, Ancient Korea, Chinese Dynasties, Napoleonic Europe, Foundation of USA, The 1812 War, Australia and Wars, World War I, World War II, The Ottoman Empire, Greece and North Africa, The Diem Regime, Pearl Harbor, and much more!
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Truly a fine book
- By Zlady Neri on 09-08-19
By: Adam Brown
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Justinian's Flea
- Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe
- By: William Rosen
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The emperor Justinian reunified Rome's fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals. At his capital in Constantinople, he built the world's most beautiful building, married the most powerful empress, and wrote the empire's most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome's fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed 5,000 people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.
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More history than Disease
- By joan on 06-25-07
By: William Rosen
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A Short History of the World
- By: Christopher Lascelles
- Narrated by: Guy Bethell
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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While this book explores world history from the big bang to the present day, it principally covers key people, events, and empires since the dawn of the first civilizations in and around 3500 BC. Epic in scope but refreshingly concise, A Short History of the World is an excellent place to start to bring your historical knowledge up to scratch.
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Apt introduction to World's History
- By rpluss on 12-22-16
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Ancient China
- A Captivating Guide to the Ancient History of China and the Chinese Civilization Starting from the Shang Dynasty to the Fall of the Han Dynasty
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In this audiobook, you will be led on a journey through almost 2,000 years of Chinese history, showing you all the ups and downs of those ancient times, the sufferings and joys of the Chinese people, along with their greatest achievements and failures. Dynasties will change, people will be killed and born, art made and destroyed, but the Chinese civilization will prevail, rising from humble beginnings to an empire that at some points outshined any other in the world at that time.
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Ancient China
- By Joey on 05-31-20
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
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The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
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Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
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Ancient Greece
- A Captivating Guide to Greek History Starting from the Greek Dark Ages to the End of Antiquity
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 1 hr and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The culture and events of Greece were so influential they have a significant effect on modern-day people all over the world. The ancient Greeks gave birth to democracy, a political system frequently used and considered by some as the best form of government. Great minds from Greece also made incredible and vital discoveries such as the water mill, the basics of geometry and using medicine to cure illness. The ancient Greek philosophers laid the groundwork for a whole new field of thought and study.
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A nice introduction to Ancient Greek history.
- By Alexander B. Talbot on 04-02-18
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From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa
- A Crash Course in 2,000 Years of Middle East History
- By: Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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To untangle the modern Middle East conflict and the 2,000 years behind it, this book is divided into 25 concise chapters. Each one is devoted to a major theme in Middle East history, such as the beginning of Islam, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, and the beginning of Israel in 1948. They can be read in a few minutes, giving you a fast overview of the issues and help you to understand Middle East current events.
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Interesting, but of course it's quite brief
- By Philo on 07-26-13
By: Michael Rank
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Fire and Blood
- A History of Mexico
- By: T. R. Fehrenbach
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 35 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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T. R. Fehrenbach brilliantly delineates the contrasts and conflicts between the many Mexicos, unraveling the history while weaving a fascinating tapestry of beauty and brutality: the Amerindians, who wrought from the vulnerable land a great indigenous Meso-American civilization by the first millennium BC; the successive reigns of Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Mexic masters, who ruled through an admirably efficient bureaucracy and the power of the priests, propitiating the capricious gods with human sacrifices; the Spanish conquistadors, and much more.
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Good book bad narration
- By M. A. Chris Raine on 03-23-19
By: T. R. Fehrenbach
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1493
- Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
- By: Charles C. Mann
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed radically different suites of plants and animals. When Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, he ended that separation at a stroke. Driven by the economic goal of establishing trade with China, he accidentally set off an ecological convulsion as European vessels carried thousands of species to new homes across the oceans.
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Fascinating Mindbending History.
- By Betsy Powel on 12-19-11
By: Charles C. Mann
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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
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An Historic Achievement
- By Ellen S. Wilds on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
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Since the Gutenberg Bible first went on sale in 1455, printing has been viewed as one of the highest achievements of human innovation. But the march of progress hasn't been smooth; downright bizarre is more like it. Printer's Error chronicles some of the strangest and most humorous episodes in the history of Western printing. Take, for example, the Gutenberg Bible. While the book is regarded as the first printed work in the Western world, Gutenberg's name doesn't appear anywhere on it.
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Excellent! Science-baced nutritional information.
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Many of us learn about the major inventions that shape our world. But we too often overlook the objects we use every day. In The Story Behind, Emily Prokop, creator of the Webby Award nominated podcast, explores the who, how, and huh? of everything from Band-Aids to bubble gum; hypnosis to Hula Hoops; and lullabies to lead pipes. Along the way, she demonstrates how the major events of history - from wars, plagues and revolutions to historic achievements and discoveries - have influenced some of the world’s most pervasive inventions.
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One third of the book is repeated after initial description of subject under “TLDR” ..?
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Amazing Trivia and Fun Facts
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I put together this book because; most people want to learn about things we don’t know. Even as a kid I loved to read about these things. The Book of world records has been one of my favorite reads. I will share with you many subjects to peak your interest in fun facts and useful information. We will cover The Earth. Geography History Food People Animals Plants Science Space Technology The Universe Weather Sports And a misc category for other stuff. You will be interested and you will learn as you read. As you read through the book, you will learn about many things you didn’t know. You ...
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Too American
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What listeners say about The Mental Floss History of the World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- carolyn
- 06-15-13
Some lessons, some laughter, fun book
This isn't a heavy-duty history-class survey but a refreshing zip tying together many of the events and actions we learned in history classes. It focuses on East as well as West, on Africa, China, Japan and South America as well as Europe and what would become the U.S. The approach covers blocks of centuries. It's neither as silly as the cover suggests, nor as dry as "world history" implies.
I didn't know anything about "Mental Floss" works (still don't) but the sections are leavened with humor and insight, brisk detail and factoids. When I studied history decades ago, classes focused on subsections of history: Western Europe, U.S., English social history, Ancient Mesopotamia, etc. I never got a good sense of how these sections were linked in time. I could not have told you what was going on in much of the rest of the world when Jesus walked, or where the Visigoths, Vandals and Saxons came from.
I recommend this with a smile. Now I'm going to go back to re-reading heavier history with a new perspective....!
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- Stuart
- 03-06-15
Fun jaunt through history
This is a well written and fantastically performed humorous recap of world history. I listen to it at least once a year for some time now.
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Overall
- Septimus MacGhilleglas
- 01-22-09
Brilliant and Funny. What more could you want?
After listening to "The Book of General Ignorance" I became addicted to this genre. I drive all night and am a lifelong learner. I soaked up so much of this book that I can send almost anyone into information overload. If you want to exercise your brain, increase your intelligence, end world hunger, or just make your co-workers look like the idiots you know them to be, BUY THIS BOOK!!!
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22 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Dann
- 07-23-10
Holy CRAP, Historianman!
Gees, humans are MEAN to each other. I'm amazed we've snowballed into almost 7 billion people. We're locust on this planet, a disease of our own making. Considering that most of the meanest people have conquered and formed this human race it's amazing that we have some sort of civility ... wherever it may be. It's also amazing that we're not dragging our knuckles anymore. What an eyeopener.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Sheri C
- 03-19-12
"Romp" is probably an overstatement
I suspect this book would have been much better in a regular book format, rather than on audio. The boring and repetitive lists of events at each chapter (?) start are probably laid out visually in such a way as to allow you to refer back during the meat of each section. Aside from that, it was still a light and entertaining overview of historical events, presented in a way that I wish my dusty old history teachers could have taught it. I was even mightily impressed with the narrator's ability to make coherent sounding sentences using the tongue-twisting names of ancient civilizations and foreign languages. Until the book hit the 1940's and I had to endure hearing "nucular" spoken over and over again. I subtracted a star for that alone, and I'm afraid I had to abandon the audiobook while it was in the home stretch.
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- david
- 09-14-10
Quick Romp Review
This book was lively and moved along with a lot of humor and information. It was free of a "right" or "wrong" theme and moved through the phases of various cultures and religions with no biasis.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Roseanna
- 12-17-09
Just the Thing!
Very entertaining combination of dates and memorable details. I really enjoyed the travel-in-time experiences and listened to some "times" over and over. The authors did a great job of presenting world events sequentially over time and geography.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Andre
- 02-24-11
Historical overdrive
This is an extremely interesting book, but it would be better to read it, rather than listen to it rush by. There are hundreds of facts and episodes, condensed and only slightly analyzed. If you were reading it, it would be possible to pause and let some description sink in; there's no time for that in the audio version.
Two minor irritants. One is the interjection of cutesy statements, in an effort to live up to the title of the book, and to (mistakenly) make it lighter and more interesting. They don't, and are only annoying.
The other is the pronunciation of the word nuclear. The reader persists in saying "nicular", instead - a dreadful mis-pronunciation.
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4 people found this helpful
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- G. Ellis
- 03-30-21
Better viewed than heard - fascinating but ...
Listening to this book instead of reading doesn't allow you to refer back to previous pages. The order, scope, and sequence of the narrative clearly invites you to correlate each section with the ones before it. If I had read this instead, the margins and flyleaves would have been full of notes. Hopefully, the written edition would also come with some sort of visible timeline chart that would help keep you on track.
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- Book Box
- 02-11-15
History as a snack!
What a great and fun way to keep learning. I love trivia and bites of learning. I will get the next one as soon as it hits the lists. Very entertaining and a bit of tongue and cheek to keep it light.
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