52 Times Britain was a Bellend: The History You Didn't Get Taught At School

My son's A-level history teacher is leaving. We wanted something fun y as a leaving present and this was perfect.Really funny and guaranteed to get a laugh.Definitely recommended.

If you're not afraid of finding out that we invented concentration camps before the Nazis, or that Churchill was a racist, or the British deliberately caused famiines that killed millions in both Ireland and India, that we raped, murdered and pillaged nations through centuries of colonial rule, not to understate the prosperity we enjoyed as pioneers of the slave trade that the Brits are directly responsible for creating current tensions between India and Pakistan, that our trait of being offended at other countries speaking their own language is something we have attempted to enforce through banning, punishing and public humiliation, then tried to forget all the dick moves we ever made, so as to paint ourselves as the good guys, when we were usually the equivalent of Blofeld, then this book is for you.On the other hand, if all you want to be told is that we defeated Hitler single handedly, modernised backward cultures, and are absolutely not racist in the slightest, nosiree, then I suggest you find something else to read.

A humorous look at 52 examples of the British being, in the words of the author, ‘bellends’.The author really does deal with ‘the history you weren’t taught at school’.Topics covered concern both British foreign policy (the Chagos Islands, the Irish potato famine, the Opium Wars etc.) and domestic British issues (using geese to clean chimneys, highly questionable human experimentation at Portland Down, persecution of Catholics etc.).I like the format of the book: each topic is introduced by way of a humorous full-page diagram and then a page of text that gives the details, making it an easy read.However, due to its brief format, the book only outlines the events described, with a focus on the most extreme and morally questionable elements.It is, as is clear from its title, by no means a balanced or neutral account of the events described, but in conjunction with other more specialist books on the subjects provides an interesting counterpoint to the idea that the British have always acted in others’ best interests.

A small, hilarious book about the bits of history British people should not be proud of. Each event is a page long with a page of nice cartoon. Some stories border on the ridiculous - like the passing of a law in 16th century by Queen Elizabeth I that compelled people to wear the bobble hat.Others sound outright amazing if not incredible, like Charles Darwin eating endangered species on his way back from the Galapagos. In mitigation, he had not yet written his theory of evolution and therefore did not know the value of the poor creatures.Other stories are tragic - like the story of trusting Cyril Radcliffe to draw the partition of India and Pakistan when the man had not travelled further than Paris. The result of that left millions of Muslims in India, and Hindus in Pakistan, all trying to flee to the other side of the border.This book is a fun book and ideal for a Christmas present - but make sure you know what a 'bellend' means before you give it as a gift.

I imagine the pitch by the Author (A) to the Publisher (P) went something like this:A: I have a few dozen tweets. Can I publish them as a book and make some easy money off them?P: Well, that sounds a bit skimpy. A book that we charge 8 quid for should be at least 150 pages.A: So what if I take 52 factoids, have each illustrated on a page by itself, and then write a wee bit more so that it's ideally one page plus a few lines. That's 3 pages per factoid, times 52, is over 150 pages, even if some are only 2 pages.P: It might work if you could add a bonus tweet, err, chapter, and we count the "Acknowledgements" and "About the author" sections and put a blank page between them.A: Can I also include an eleven-page ad for my other book?P: Deal!Okay, the facts are nicely horrible and the writing at times quite funny (although some facetious turns of phrase are repeated too often, e.g. the "I'm kidding of course" one). Realistically, this could have fit on 75 or so pages and should have been priced accordingly.

Good in places, interesting overall, but a bit student show off for me. At points, downright childish and gratuitous. Up to you

Nephew loved it

Enjoyed the book. More people should read it as it helps you to see the mess of modern Britain in a new context.