Books : An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: (or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge)
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by: John O'Farrell
Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780552773966
Format: Import
ISBN: 0552773964
Label: Black Swan
Manufacturer: Black Swan
Number Of Pages: 592
Publication Date: June 02, 2008
Publisher: Black Swan
Sales Rank: 489848
Studio: Black Swan
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Save money and fish out your old copy of 1066 and all that
You have a spare summer and fancy writing a book but can't be bothered with all that creative muse malarky. It's a bit too soon for the autobiography( still working on doing the X-factor and the Big Brother application and frankly not so hot on the sports front) so what do you do? Well you pop along to the local reference library and sort out a stack of What the Roman's did for us, Great Kings and Queens of England, Prime Minsters I have known, and write a comic History of Britain for History refusniks. ... Read More
Rating:  - Highly readable history
A light and breezy stroll through British history from 55BC to 1945. O'Farrell has made every attempt to make the information accessible and dispels numerous myths. As for the humor, I agree the author has overdone it. I did find myself saying 'enough with the comic asides, let's get back to the story', but there were times that I laughed out loud, so while not perfect it's quite good. Also, a lot of cultural references will go over the head of non-British readers, myself included.
Rating:  - Makes history readable
Well researched, very funny book which was a joy as holiday reading. Frequently laugh-out-loud. Highly enjoyable.
Rating:  - Great historical insight, horribly unfunny
Think of that person who can't resist making a clever quip after anything is said. Now, imagine reading a 552 page book written by that person. While Mr. O'Farrell's insight into English history is fascinating, it is completely ruined by his insufferable and constant attempts at humor. To add to the torture, on virtually every page he asks you to refer to footnotes that invariably contain more poorly written and agonizingly unfunny tidbits. Frankly, there are more belly laughs in Churchill's "A History ... Read More
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