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zombeesknees's review against another edition
5.0
Almost as hilarious as his first book, Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes, O'Brien is at it again with plenty of profanity, pop culture riffs, and CAPSLOCKING irreverence. This time the history and folklore of the United States is in his crosshairs and I, actual history major graduate, was DELIGHTED. With such instant classics as "Paul Bunyan is Godzilla But With Thumbs", "The Roanoke Colonists Forget to Leave a Forwarding Address", and "Thomas Jefferson is a Radical Man , Buying Radical Land", there's a little something for everyone. This is pretty much tailor-made for dramatic readings to appreciative friends with one-liners like "John Henry who, like Nicki Minaj's ass, DOES NOT QUIT."
Prepare to be beaked by the majestic eagle of history INDEED.
Prepare to be beaked by the majestic eagle of history INDEED.
hawksinger's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome!
I found this book hilarious, and told in the style of an excited person talking, and memorable because of that unique style of writing.
I found this book hilarious, and told in the style of an excited person talking, and memorable because of that unique style of writing.
akallabeth's review against another edition
2.0
you: hey mim, did you just read this book because it's really short and you're way behind on your reading challenge?
me: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
you again: hey mim maybe don't read books that take on american history but are primarily humor books when you know you're just gonna get annoyed when they're inevitably inaccurate?
me: yeah that's actually a good point
so, yeah. reading this, i had a lot of similar thoughts to when i was reading 'how to fight presidents'. like, there are parts of this that are genuinely funny, but also waaaaah that's wrong. i was trying to be a little more lax with this book because the whole shtick is kind of talking about how american history and american mythology get mixed together (a fair and fun point) but after the third time sam adams and john adams were referred to as brothers i just.... couldn't. i'm sorry! i'm not a fun person, apparently.
real rating: 2.5 stars
stars docked for: the aforementioned brother/second cousin confusion, making me read about how great teddy roosevelt was YET AGAIN, that uncomfortable joke about sally hemmings
half a star awarded for: dragging andrew jackson, which is more than 'how to fight presidents' bothered to do.
"The Supreme Court is like "Actually, Mr. President
it turns out you can't just issue a proclamation
declaring that other people's land is now yours
it turns out that's called stealing."
So the Cheerokes are like "Ha HA!"
And Andrew Jackson is like "Well
if the Supreme Court hates stealing so much
let them enforce that law."
BECAUSE YEAH, ANDREW JACKSON
THAT'S SO WHAT THE JUDICIARY IS FOR.
Then he turns around and tells Georgia
(which really wants the Cherokees' land)
to just go nuts and start killing whoever.
THIS DUDE GETS TO BE ON THE TWENTY
ALEXANDER HAMILTON IS ON THE TEN
AND HE INVENTED THE NATIONAL BANK
WHAT
THE
HELL."
fuck andrew jackson.
me: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
you again: hey mim maybe don't read books that take on american history but are primarily humor books when you know you're just gonna get annoyed when they're inevitably inaccurate?
me: yeah that's actually a good point
so, yeah. reading this, i had a lot of similar thoughts to when i was reading 'how to fight presidents'. like, there are parts of this that are genuinely funny, but also waaaaah that's wrong. i was trying to be a little more lax with this book because the whole shtick is kind of talking about how american history and american mythology get mixed together (a fair and fun point) but after the third time sam adams and john adams were referred to as brothers i just.... couldn't. i'm sorry! i'm not a fun person, apparently.
real rating: 2.5 stars
stars docked for: the aforementioned brother/second cousin confusion, making me read about how great teddy roosevelt was YET AGAIN, that uncomfortable joke about sally hemmings
half a star awarded for: dragging andrew jackson, which is more than 'how to fight presidents' bothered to do.
"The Supreme Court is like "Actually, Mr. President
it turns out you can't just issue a proclamation
declaring that other people's land is now yours
it turns out that's called stealing."
So the Cheerokes are like "Ha HA!"
And Andrew Jackson is like "Well
if the Supreme Court hates stealing so much
let them enforce that law."
BECAUSE YEAH, ANDREW JACKSON
THAT'S SO WHAT THE JUDICIARY IS FOR.
Then he turns around and tells Georgia
(which really wants the Cherokees' land)
to just go nuts and start killing whoever.
THIS DUDE GETS TO BE ON THE TWENTY
ALEXANDER HAMILTON IS ON THE TEN
AND HE INVENTED THE NATIONAL BANK
WHAT
THE
HELL."
fuck andrew jackson.
effingunicorns's review
5.0
Even with its mythological angle, this is probably one of the more honest American history overviews out there, but the constant humor and O'Brien's fast-paced writing style kept me from getting bogged down in how terrible some of our history is.
lwerner817's review against another edition
5.0
The writing is questionable, but the morals are hilarious. Each chapter is very short and on a different topic of American history. At the end of each chapter it is summarized in a one sentence moral. I felt horrible laughing at parts because this book covers a lot of dark things in America's past for example:
Chapter title: The Trail of Tears is not the Name of a Linkin Park Album
Chapter title: The Trail of Tears is not the Name of a Linkin Park Album
savanna's review against another edition
3.0
Possibly closer to 3.5 stars. This really worked for me back when I first got it but I think some of the syntax and humor is a little dated now.
captainfez's review against another edition
3.0
Look, this is a bit of a hard one for me to review. I'm not entirely sure why. I mean, I liked Cory O'Brien's previous book about mythology, so it stands to reason that I would like this.
And I do, let's not argue about that.
But it feels a bit weirder to be writing about actual people with the same pisstakery that's perhaps reasonable for mythological figures.
I should really point you towards my review of the first book as it pretty much gives the broad strokes. The writing is engaging, and the stories told inspire the reader to check out other sources in order to learn more. And I appreciate that the stories he's telling here - Al Capone, George Washington, Tesla/Edison, amongst others - are faintly mythical themselves.
There's a whole mythology-creating process that occurs as part of the recording of history in all its biased-account glory, and O'Brien is gunning for that. It just seems that some of the profane levity might be taken badly given that he's here covering native American histories, or the Underground Railroad. Yes, it's all a schtick (and fuck, I'm not even American) but it occasionally felt a bit flat, or a bit like the sound of a bum note.
Still, it's a good book for the can, and a good book to get the reader interested in drier sources. That's reason enough to give this a spin. So y'might as well.
And I do, let's not argue about that.
But it feels a bit weirder to be writing about actual people with the same pisstakery that's perhaps reasonable for mythological figures.
I should really point you towards my review of the first book as it pretty much gives the broad strokes. The writing is engaging, and the stories told inspire the reader to check out other sources in order to learn more. And I appreciate that the stories he's telling here - Al Capone, George Washington, Tesla/Edison, amongst others - are faintly mythical themselves.
There's a whole mythology-creating process that occurs as part of the recording of history in all its biased-account glory, and O'Brien is gunning for that. It just seems that some of the profane levity might be taken badly given that he's here covering native American histories, or the Underground Railroad. Yes, it's all a schtick (and fuck, I'm not even American) but it occasionally felt a bit flat, or a bit like the sound of a bum note.
Still, it's a good book for the can, and a good book to get the reader interested in drier sources. That's reason enough to give this a spin. So y'might as well.
lonewolf6693's review against another edition
4.0
For the most part I really enjoyed it, but it was problematic.