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The Rest is History Returns: An A–Z of Historical Curiosities
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'The world's most successful history podcast . . . Holland and Sandbrook have pretty much reinvented popular history for the modern age' The Times
From the podcast legends who brought you The Rest is History comes The Rest is History Returns!
This time Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook bring you an alphabetical miscellany, taking on some of history's best and most bizarre moments. Charge forth against the traitors of the American Revolution, journey through Baghdad to discover the origins of the Arabian Nights and head to Sicily to witness the first face-off between Carthage and Rome.
Along the way you'll find the answers to questions
- Who was Jesus's wife?
- What would it have been like to live-tweet through the eruption of Vesuvius?
- Why did the Romans inspire so much American science fiction?
- Which Mitford sister tried to seduce her girlish crush, Adolf Hitler?
- Who are history's top 10 monkeys?
- Was Henry V's great-grandfather, Edward III, the biggest 'lad' in British history?
But that's not all � this book also includes puzzles and a pub quiz. So dust off your tricorne hat, grab your lasso and get ready for a rollicking rollercoaster through the past . . .
'The world's most successful history podcast . . . Holland and Sandbrook have pretty much reinvented popular history for the modern age' The Times
From the podcast legends who brought you The Rest is History comes The Rest is History Returns!
This time Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook bring you an alphabetical miscellany, taking on some of history's best and most bizarre moments. Charge forth against the traitors of the American Revolution, journey through Baghdad to discover the origins of the Arabian Nights and head to Sicily to witness the first face-off between Carthage and Rome.
Along the way you'll find the answers to questions
- Who was Jesus's wife?
- What would it have been like to live-tweet through the eruption of Vesuvius?
- Why did the Romans inspire so much American science fiction?
- Which Mitford sister tried to seduce her girlish crush, Adolf Hitler?
- Who are history's top 10 monkeys?
- Was Henry V's great-grandfather, Edward III, the biggest 'lad' in British history?
But that's not all � this book also includes puzzles and a pub quiz. So dust off your tricorne hat, grab your lasso and get ready for a rollicking rollercoaster through the past . . .
443 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2024
47 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Dominic Sandbrook
43books460followersAn English historian, commentator and broadcaster and author of two highly acclaimed books on modern Britain: Never Had It So Good and White Heat. Their follow-up is State of Emergency.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 25, 2024
Decent read, similar wit and pithy humour as the podcast. But a lot of repeat content and skipped some chapters altogether.
September 22, 2024
Inferior version of the podcast.
December 25, 2024
I loved this years book just as much as lasts! Each chapter was a gem, and I found myself particularly liking the Peasants' Revolt and the section on the nepolipn. It's great to find books that offer history in such a digestable form
December 19, 2024
I am a bit of a history geek and I love finding out weird, odd and unusual facts - the bits of history they don't really teach in school and university.
I was lucky enough to get a copy of this book from the publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing and it's a heavy beastie. It's chock full of facts and they're conveyed in fun and interesting ways - not just dry and boring information.
The chapters are little puns of things you already may know like The Arabian Heights, Roman Rumble in the Sicilian Jungle and Great British Quaker Off.
There are brilliant little quizzes you can choose to take. I think one of my favourite sections was about the eruption of Vesuvius and subsequent destruction of Pompeii but told as if they had "Instagram" back then and an influencer was making a kind of vlog about it!
I thought this was a really fun and irreverent way to get some history into the hands and brains of those who don't think they like history but there is enough new information or new ways of thinking to intrigue the history hounds like myself. It would make a great stocking stuffer actually!
I was lucky enough to get a copy of this book from the publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing and it's a heavy beastie. It's chock full of facts and they're conveyed in fun and interesting ways - not just dry and boring information.
The chapters are little puns of things you already may know like The Arabian Heights, Roman Rumble in the Sicilian Jungle and Great British Quaker Off.
There are brilliant little quizzes you can choose to take. I think one of my favourite sections was about the eruption of Vesuvius and subsequent destruction of Pompeii but told as if they had "Instagram" back then and an influencer was making a kind of vlog about it!
I thought this was a really fun and irreverent way to get some history into the hands and brains of those who don't think they like history but there is enough new information or new ways of thinking to intrigue the history hounds like myself. It would make a great stocking stuffer actually!
December 12, 2024
Another fun compilation of stories from my favorite podcast. I enjoy how Tom and Dominic bring their unique voices to the pieces that they take the lead on. This book has some great material, especially the special chapters on ranking both history's greatest monkeys and JFK conspiracy theories by their likelihood and fun factor. I also greatly appreciated the puzzle section at the end and the Historical Love Island quiz, interactive books! Thoroughly enjoyed this second volume, can't wait for the third as the podcast has never been stronger.
April 21, 2025
Audible listen. Maybe this would have been more interesting if I was invested in the podcast in any way, but as a standalone listen I found this dull as dishwater. Even when the subject matter should have been captivating, the narration never grabbed me - even to the point I was skipping whole sections. There's a few interesting tidbits but generally the delivery isn't great, jokes are lost in the tedium and, ultimately, I expected more. A disappointing listen.
October 1, 2024
3.75
Fun
Informative
Fascinating
Fun
Informative
Fascinating
October 12, 2024
Better than the 1st. Maybe as I had not listened to all the Podcasts.
December 7, 2024
imo hard to read. i like the idea of it and it's pretty interesting in terms of factual accuracies but it's written in a very hard to understand/grasp way. i kept getting side tracked or confused.
December 11, 2024
Love the podcast, hate the book. Given up just over halfway.
January 12, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
January 12, 2025
Good fun to read, especially as they play with genre and when you get asides that remind you why you listen to the podcast
February 10, 2025
An informative giggle.
March 8, 2025
full of fascinating facts
A book full of fascinating facts and funny stories, some of which had me laughing out loud. Well written and kept me interested from beginning to end.
A book full of fascinating facts and funny stories, some of which had me laughing out loud. Well written and kept me interested from beginning to end.
October 21, 2024
Quite an engaging and informative book. I found the jumping eras and topics so quickly a little jarring, and definitely prefer Holland’s other historical books, but overall a solid read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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