From the era that inspired MAD magazine and Tom Lehrer, this book skewered MANY sacred cows of the time. My grandfather gave it to my father, and he gave it to me. As with jazz music, satire requires foreknowledge of the subject. You can't understand why it's funny unless you know to what the twists and jabs are directed. ( )

A very funny book, but tends toward puns--not the highest form of humor. And this is not humor based on history, it is humor based on distortions of history. Most of the history is too mangled to be taken seriously; nor did the author intend it to be taken seriously. If you took this book seriously, you might think that Eli Whitney's cotton gin was "a stimulating drink which enabled one man to do the work of fifty." Or that "The Mormon Conquest" was the Mormon takeover of Utah under "Bigamy" Young. Funny? Yes, of course, but this is not a text book. Don't read it to learn history. Read it for the laughs.

Richard Armour does make some valid points, however. As when he describes Teddy Roosevelt's unsuccessful attempts to start a war, then having to accept a Nobel Peace Prize as a consolation. There is some truth to that! And this book is quotable: "The great improvement of the radio over the telephone is that it may be turned off without offending the speaker." ( )

It won't take long, but make certain you are on DC alert the whole time.

(Sit down, Empty your hands, Do not take a drink. Make sure there is nothing in kicking range - or you are going to be wearing, snorting or breaking something) ( )

A mangled retelling of American history that was instrumental in developing the warped sense of humor I enjoy today! ( )

The full title is "It all started with Columbus,
being an unexpurgated, unabridged, and unlikely history of the United States from Christopher Columbus to John F. Kennedy for those who, having perused a volume of history in school, swore they would never read another." The cover of this 1965 edition shows Columbus shaking hands with President Lyndon Johnson. My high school American history teacher often quoted very funny passages from an earlier edition. It's curious that editions after 1975 were retitled: "It all would have startled Columbus." ( )