
The Mental Floss History of the World
An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization's Best Bits
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Narrated by:
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Johny Heller
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.
©2008 Mental Floss LLC (P)2008 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















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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....!
Some lessons, some laughter, fun book
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Fun jaunt through history
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Quick Romp Review
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Just the Thing!
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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.
Historical overdrive
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Better viewed than heard - fascinating but ...
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History as a snack!
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The reader is also somewhat problematic. He has plenty of 'melody' to his voice, but a great many idiosyncratic pronunciations, which I find jarring. For instance, 'paraBOla' rather than the usual 'paRAbola'. Also, there are several malapropisms, which could be the fault of the authors, or a misreading by the reader. For instance, 'neuron' when it should be 'neutron' or 'climactic' when it should be 'climatic'. Still, it is worth listening to just for fun.
Good, but not good enough
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I love the delivery of the narrator and his sarcasm.
Who knows how accurate the historical estimations are? All I know is that it is more than I know, or had the time to research.
It was purely for mental enjoyment and entertainment. If it was all true, then I am smarter then when I first pushed play. If not, then my friends at parties now think I am an idiot for all of the tid-bits I have spewed! Either way, I'm happy with the audiobook!
This was just great!
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World History: A Saga in Satire
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