The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History Paperback – December 22, 2009

Hysterical, interesting view of historical events that you didn't learn in school. You will laugh out loud at many of the references! Guaranteed to be interesting, even for those who don't like history. Follow this author's reading materials, he is very thorough and really does his research.

I bought this for my fifth grader who is rather precocious. I have not read it, but she seemed to really enjoy it. I sat by her on a long plane ride from Seattle to Houston and she read this book the entire time! Fifth grade, at least here in Texas, is US history intensive, so this was a fun way for her to bone up on a lot of material. Incidentally, she told me that the other day her teacher asked if anyone knew anything about Richard Nixon and she was able to raise her hand and explain all about Watergate! (BTW: Don't let your kid make the recipe for mustard gas - it's way too caloric!)

Not particularly funny, snarky, or smart alecky. It is however a well done summary volume of the main points in American history; political, societal and cultural.Using Billy Joel songs as the thread throughout a large section of the book renders this extremely topical, though very well done.

I would give this 5 stars-very clever writing-but you have to know about history in order to understand some of the sarcasm and jokes so its not for those who want to learn. I already know most of this so the humor is entertaining. Read the sample before you buy to see if it is right for you.

This book was very funny and cracked a lot of jokes. While being funny, it also teaches a lot of very interesting facts about many famous people. I highly recommend this book to people who are starting to like history and who want to learn more.

Excellent read. I bought it to give to my 13 year old grandson who's really into history and both my husband and I read it before we gift wrapped it for him! Makes American history much more interesting and real. We loved the end of chapter tests and the "what would your life have been like if you had lived then" sections. Must reading for anyone taking American history classes!

Adam Selzer writes books in a way to keep you interested! Highly Recommend all his books!

I have always loved American History and have read biographies of the founding fathers, the last autobiography I read was Decision Points by our 41st President, which was excellent. But, I know there are some young people who just do what they have to do to get through American History. This book has real facts and is just funny and makes history something you can remember and laugh about it. It is very entertaining and fun, and you learn a whole lot!