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Stick a Flag in It: 1,000 Years of Bizarre History from Britain and Beyond
From the Norman Invasion in 1066 to the eve of the First World War, Stick a Flag in It is a thousand-year jocular journey through the history of Britain and its global empire.
The British people have always been eccentric, occasionally ingenious and, sure, sometimes unhinged – from mad monarchs to mass-murdering lepers. Here, Arran Lomas shows us how they harnessed those traits to forge the British nation, and indeed the world, we know today.
Follow history’s greatest adventurers from the swashbuckling waters of the Caribbean to the vast white wasteland of the Antarctic wilderness, like the British spy who infiltrated a top-secret Indian brothel and the priest who hid inside a wall but forgot to bring a packed lunch. At the very least you’ll discover Henry VIII’s favourite arse-wipe, whether the flying alchemist ever made it from Scotland to France, and the connection between Victorian coffee houses and dildos.
Forget what you were taught in school – this is history like you’ve never heard it before, full of captivating historical quirks that will make you laugh out loud and scratch your head in disbelief.
The British people have always been eccentric, occasionally ingenious and, sure, sometimes unhinged – from mad monarchs to mass-murdering lepers. Here, Arran Lomas shows us how they harnessed those traits to forge the British nation, and indeed the world, we know today.
Follow history’s greatest adventurers from the swashbuckling waters of the Caribbean to the vast white wasteland of the Antarctic wilderness, like the British spy who infiltrated a top-secret Indian brothel and the priest who hid inside a wall but forgot to bring a packed lunch. At the very least you’ll discover Henry VIII’s favourite arse-wipe, whether the flying alchemist ever made it from Scotland to France, and the connection between Victorian coffee houses and dildos.
Forget what you were taught in school – this is history like you’ve never heard it before, full of captivating historical quirks that will make you laugh out loud and scratch your head in disbelief.
442 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2020
139 people are currently reading
580 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
August 13, 2022
(Fair warning: this is as much of a rant as a review)
TL;DR = F*** This Book
There is a saying, of disputed origin, which states that such and such book should "not be tossed aside lightly, but thrown with great force." Imagine, then, how bereft I feel having just listened to the audiobook of Stick a Flag in It. In his introduction, author Arran Lomas declares that Britons who express critical opinions of Great Britain's actions throughout history (particularly the era of the British Empire) are really practising self-hatred, which he knows because he has met such people. Whether they personally confessed their self-hatred to him or he reached that conclusion all by himself isn't something he deigns to tell, but I think I can guess which scenario is correct. Having set this low bar, Lomas proceeds to limbo under it for the bulk of this terrible book, marrying excruciating jokes about Justin Bieber (yes, there are more than one of those) with a nationalistic brand of historical analysis that will play well with reactionaries who prefer toff triumphalism to actual insight and simply cannot abide the notion that all those black and brown people trampled by colonialism didn't either have it coming or benefit immensely from it.
There are some interesting nuggets of trivia buried in Stick a Flag In It (mostly relating to the kings and queens of Britain) but you have to wade through so much dreck to find them, and the dreck wins out. Take Lomas' view on the British role in the Atlantic slave trade. Sure, they were glad to participate in it at first and continued to benefit from slavery for many years, but eventually the Brits decided that they didn't like it so much after all, and that's what really counts. As for the British Raj? It brought "liberty" and "egalitarianism" to India, and also some nice buildings. Oh, and we got curry out of it, so what's a little famine and oppression between friends? Lomas helpfully informs the reader that they're an ignoramus if they disagree. Then there's Lomas on the Industrial Revolution, a chapter in which he extols the virtues of workhouses and generally dismisses the notion of negative human costs as so much lib hype. Just in case you're not convinced, Lomas proposes a dark alternative, and it's a familiar one: communism! He draws a direct line from intellectuals like Marx/Engels to tyrants like Stalin/Mao (don't expect a nuanced comparison, mind you) and even goes so far as to cite dubious death statistics popularised by The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression . Naturally, he doesn't offer a body count for capitalism. In another chapter, Lomas describes the colonists' first encounters with the natives of North America, in which he actually calls the Native Americans "aliens" -- one of the many passages that had me questioning what planet Lomas resides on exactly.
Recently I've been thinking about revisiting King Leopold's Ghost *, Adam Hochschild's devastating account of King Leopold II of Belgium's brutal conquest of the Congo, which shines a light on the horrors of colonialism. The natural response to reading a book like Hochschild's is indeed a feeling of horror over what colonialist greed can do to a victim population. For all its jesting, Stick a Flag In It is a sad reminder that, for some people, such things make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When Lomas does begrudgingly acknowledge the reality of non-whites' suffering under British rule, he does so in a way that scarcely recognises their humanity, and you can bet that the words "but" and "yet" will quickly crop up, lest your sympathies be too long with anyone who isn't White British**. And if all else fails, he reverts back to toilet humour. Crap jokes for a crap book.
*There's actually some overlap between KLG and SaFiI: Henry Morton Stanley, who played a bloody role in helping Leopold's subjugation of the Congo. Lomas prefers the Dr. Livingstone story, however, and only briefly mentions Stanley's murderous tendencies.
**An exception is made for poor Brits, who Lomas seems to despise almost as much as he does the French.
TL;DR = F*** This Book
There is a saying, of disputed origin, which states that such and such book should "not be tossed aside lightly, but thrown with great force." Imagine, then, how bereft I feel having just listened to the audiobook of Stick a Flag in It. In his introduction, author Arran Lomas declares that Britons who express critical opinions of Great Britain's actions throughout history (particularly the era of the British Empire) are really practising self-hatred, which he knows because he has met such people. Whether they personally confessed their self-hatred to him or he reached that conclusion all by himself isn't something he deigns to tell, but I think I can guess which scenario is correct. Having set this low bar, Lomas proceeds to limbo under it for the bulk of this terrible book, marrying excruciating jokes about Justin Bieber (yes, there are more than one of those) with a nationalistic brand of historical analysis that will play well with reactionaries who prefer toff triumphalism to actual insight and simply cannot abide the notion that all those black and brown people trampled by colonialism didn't either have it coming or benefit immensely from it.
There are some interesting nuggets of trivia buried in Stick a Flag In It (mostly relating to the kings and queens of Britain) but you have to wade through so much dreck to find them, and the dreck wins out. Take Lomas' view on the British role in the Atlantic slave trade. Sure, they were glad to participate in it at first and continued to benefit from slavery for many years, but eventually the Brits decided that they didn't like it so much after all, and that's what really counts. As for the British Raj? It brought "liberty" and "egalitarianism" to India, and also some nice buildings. Oh, and we got curry out of it, so what's a little famine and oppression between friends? Lomas helpfully informs the reader that they're an ignoramus if they disagree. Then there's Lomas on the Industrial Revolution, a chapter in which he extols the virtues of workhouses and generally dismisses the notion of negative human costs as so much lib hype. Just in case you're not convinced, Lomas proposes a dark alternative, and it's a familiar one: communism! He draws a direct line from intellectuals like Marx/Engels to tyrants like Stalin/Mao (don't expect a nuanced comparison, mind you) and even goes so far as to cite dubious death statistics popularised by The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression . Naturally, he doesn't offer a body count for capitalism. In another chapter, Lomas describes the colonists' first encounters with the natives of North America, in which he actually calls the Native Americans "aliens" -- one of the many passages that had me questioning what planet Lomas resides on exactly.
Recently I've been thinking about revisiting King Leopold's Ghost *, Adam Hochschild's devastating account of King Leopold II of Belgium's brutal conquest of the Congo, which shines a light on the horrors of colonialism. The natural response to reading a book like Hochschild's is indeed a feeling of horror over what colonialist greed can do to a victim population. For all its jesting, Stick a Flag In It is a sad reminder that, for some people, such things make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When Lomas does begrudgingly acknowledge the reality of non-whites' suffering under British rule, he does so in a way that scarcely recognises their humanity, and you can bet that the words "but" and "yet" will quickly crop up, lest your sympathies be too long with anyone who isn't White British**. And if all else fails, he reverts back to toilet humour. Crap jokes for a crap book.
*There's actually some overlap between KLG and SaFiI: Henry Morton Stanley, who played a bloody role in helping Leopold's subjugation of the Congo. Lomas prefers the Dr. Livingstone story, however, and only briefly mentions Stanley's murderous tendencies.
**An exception is made for poor Brits, who Lomas seems to despise almost as much as he does the French.
December 6, 2021
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
Arran Lomas's Stick a Flag in It at first appeared to be something like an adult version of the “Horrible Histories” books that I read when I was younger - a broad coverage of a civilization or nation that revels in providing ample detail on the particularly odd, gory, and fascinatingly weird information on past events and people. Shortly after I started reading it, it wasn’t long at all until I felt just like a kid again as I was drawn into a genuinely informative and fun journey through the history of the Brits, threaded through with plenty of witty and snarky commentary from Lomas .
However, things took a turn after transitioning from the Middle Ages and to the era of exploration and empire. Given the reading experience up to that point, I anticipated an overview of the British Empire that included both lots of new facts and also a generous amount of playfully critical jabs. But instead, the book shifted to an ever-more praiseworthy tone as it became progressively more focused upon the positive aspects of the colonial era. Now, that’s not to say that topics like Britain’s pivotal role in kicking off the Industrial Revolution or ending the transatlantic slave trade (that it helped start) aren’t noteworthy, because of course they are. But even for a humorous general history whose scope could only include so much, Lomas's selections and omissions for the second half of the book resulted in a sanitized, kid-glove historical telling compared to what came before.
For example, the section on the British Raj consisted mostly of glowing descriptions of items like the efficiency of the relatively small number of British colonial administrators, the development of the railway system across the Indian subcontinent, and strategies to curb the practice of sati. Meanwhile, colonization across Africa from the Nile down to modern-day Cape Town, the Boer War, the numerous forays into Afghanistan, the opium trade, and the resulting Opium Wars in China didn't receive any mention whatsoever, despite either very sizable roles in the narrative Britain's global expansion, or at least their perfect ripeness for commentary of any sort.
Now, that's not to say I expected the book to provide a critical overview of all the flaws of the empire. However, neither did I expect a book literally titled Stick a Flag in It to provide such shamelessly fawning coverage of Britain's global reach. There was only so much genuine interest that I could maintain in a narrative that ended up neutering itself into a love letter to England.
Overall, Stick a Flag in It proved to be, at best, a very uneven experience. It started out as an enjoyable and very readable trip through several hundred years of British history, with much to teach and much to clarify for some crucial bits that I only partially knew before going in. Unfortunately, the overly laudatory turn that it took in the second half made the book peter out so much out that it was a relief by the time I arrived at the end.
Arran Lomas's Stick a Flag in It at first appeared to be something like an adult version of the “Horrible Histories” books that I read when I was younger - a broad coverage of a civilization or nation that revels in providing ample detail on the particularly odd, gory, and fascinatingly weird information on past events and people. Shortly after I started reading it, it wasn’t long at all until I felt just like a kid again as I was drawn into a genuinely informative and fun journey through the history of the Brits, threaded through with plenty of witty and snarky commentary from Lomas .
However, things took a turn after transitioning from the Middle Ages and to the era of exploration and empire. Given the reading experience up to that point, I anticipated an overview of the British Empire that included both lots of new facts and also a generous amount of playfully critical jabs. But instead, the book shifted to an ever-more praiseworthy tone as it became progressively more focused upon the positive aspects of the colonial era. Now, that’s not to say that topics like Britain’s pivotal role in kicking off the Industrial Revolution or ending the transatlantic slave trade (that it helped start) aren’t noteworthy, because of course they are. But even for a humorous general history whose scope could only include so much, Lomas's selections and omissions for the second half of the book resulted in a sanitized, kid-glove historical telling compared to what came before.
For example, the section on the British Raj consisted mostly of glowing descriptions of items like the efficiency of the relatively small number of British colonial administrators, the development of the railway system across the Indian subcontinent, and strategies to curb the practice of sati. Meanwhile, colonization across Africa from the Nile down to modern-day Cape Town, the Boer War, the numerous forays into Afghanistan, the opium trade, and the resulting Opium Wars in China didn't receive any mention whatsoever, despite either very sizable roles in the narrative Britain's global expansion, or at least their perfect ripeness for commentary of any sort.
Now, that's not to say I expected the book to provide a critical overview of all the flaws of the empire. However, neither did I expect a book literally titled Stick a Flag in It to provide such shamelessly fawning coverage of Britain's global reach. There was only so much genuine interest that I could maintain in a narrative that ended up neutering itself into a love letter to England.
Overall, Stick a Flag in It proved to be, at best, a very uneven experience. It started out as an enjoyable and very readable trip through several hundred years of British history, with much to teach and much to clarify for some crucial bits that I only partially knew before going in. Unfortunately, the overly laudatory turn that it took in the second half made the book peter out so much out that it was a relief by the time I arrived at the end.
November 8, 2021
My thanks to Arran Lomas, Unbound Publishing and Netgalley. I wanted to read this book because of the name. I've always thought it slightly ludicrous that explorer's think that if they flag it, that it's for them. To my surprise, there were only 2 instances of "flagging and tagging!" That didn't stop my enjoyment at all. I loved all the myriad stories. Still, for the life of me, I can't keep track of all the royals and noblemen with the same names! Henry, Edward, Richard, Charles et al! To end with Shackleton was perfect! He's always been hero, and his Captaincy says all! Excellent book!
February 17, 2022
You would think studying history would be boring....
Well, you won't get bored with this one.
Arran Lomas is an English YouTuber known as Thoughty2.
A flexible sense of humor is required to enjoy this lecture.
It could have polished it to make it for a wider range of readership because this author is an amazing storyteller.
It is a though sell to publish yet another English history book, so you feel pressured to make it different, darker and irreverent, but was it necessary?
Well, you won't get bored with this one.
Arran Lomas is an English YouTuber known as Thoughty2.
A flexible sense of humor is required to enjoy this lecture.
It could have polished it to make it for a wider range of readership because this author is an amazing storyteller.
It is a though sell to publish yet another English history book, so you feel pressured to make it different, darker and irreverent, but was it necessary?
November 29, 2020
3.5 stars
"Stick a Flag in It" started out rather strong in my opinion with fun recaps of some of the most important events in British history.
Unfortunately, the later chapters were a lot less snarky and less critical of British history. British colonialism especially was depicted in a rather rosy light.
There were also some instances where I wasn't sure whether the author got all the facts straight.
Still, the first half of the book is definitely entertaining and worth the read. The second half should be read critically, but still contains some fun facts and stories.
"Stick a Flag in It" started out rather strong in my opinion with fun recaps of some of the most important events in British history.
Unfortunately, the later chapters were a lot less snarky and less critical of British history. British colonialism especially was depicted in a rather rosy light.
There were also some instances where I wasn't sure whether the author got all the facts straight.
Still, the first half of the book is definitely entertaining and worth the read. The second half should be read critically, but still contains some fun facts and stories.
June 24, 2021
4 stars, deducting a star due to some of the humour being over the line of decency, obviously aiming for the "bloke" audience but over shooting things into areas that are totally unacceptable. So probably not a book for the Woke/Snowflake/easily offended.
Apart from that I did enjoy this book, I did learn new things about British history. The best way to describe it is Horrible History for adults.
Thank you Pigeonhole & Arran for enabling me to read this book.
Apart from that I did enjoy this book, I did learn new things about British history. The best way to describe it is Horrible History for adults.
Thank you Pigeonhole & Arran for enabling me to read this book.
October 6, 2020
A history book with all the amazing, bizarre and downright strange bits left in, this book is an immensely readable collection of many of the memorable tales- and some not so memorable- of (mainly) British history. For those wary of dates, there are some, but certainly not so many as to cause grief. There are no footnotes either, so some of the extraordinary assertions here are not substantiated by chapter and verse, but I suspect that serious historians into a particular element of the history will seek elsewhere for their detailed fix of information. There is, however, a lengthy index at the end of the book should you wish to look up such burning topics as “Lovelace, Ada” or “humours, theory of” . Though not a feminist interpretation of history (though there are details of women’s lowly status in such times as the Victorian era), this is an attractive, if sometimes shocking, scurry through history which permits frequent diversions to indulge what I imagine to be the author’s own interests. There are a few innuendos and details which would mean that this book is not for those easily taken aback by comments, but this is an ideal book for those wishing to travel through “1,000 Years of bizarre history from Britain and beyond”. I was intrigued and interested to have the opportunity to read and review this substantial book.
Beginning with that lynchpin of British history, 1066 and the battle of Hastings, Lomas tells of how Harold put up quite the fight, and how even after the battle was won, William had to assert his authority in many ways. Throughout this book it is possible to see how Lomas revels in an interesting death, and the fate of a corpse in pre refrigerated times. Not that this is a book solely concerned with kings and rulers; Lomas demonstrates that he can handle the factors behind Britain’s victories over France in medieval battles in the form of every level of the populace being highly trained in the use of the longbow which thus became the first weapon of mass destruction. He does not hold back in condemning kings as bad or criminally awful at being king, such as John or Henry VI, and gives cogent reasons why they were (to quote another popular history book) “a bad thing”. He explains why Margaret Beaufort was the ultimate single mother, and various battle disasters which led to huge loss of life on various battlefields. While this is mainly a straightforward run through British history, there are also diversions into chapters such as “A Man Carries a Pineapple Around Town” and “Some Yorkshiremen Crash the Economy from a Pub”. There are comparisons between the cost and complications of divorce compared with the possible benefits of selling a wife with examples.
This is in some ways a very personal view of history, covering the progress of Byron’s exploits and the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. Idiosyncratic in every way, there were times when the assertions in this book did give me pause, and one or two allusions to twenty first century life were a little strained. Nevertheless this is an easy to read and enjoy book which certainly presents a lively and vivid introduction to many aspects of history which may well inspire further investigation. There are certainly adventures here recorded with real energy and aplomb. It offers a traditional view of the growth of the British Empire, but also points out how it extended to an undreamed of size and impact, and its contribution if not introduction to the concept of liberty. This is a successful book in that it argues for a simple but effective view of British history and some of its impact on the world, leading up to the early twentieth century. From William the Conqueror to Shackleton, with a “Select Bibliography” and due acknowledgement to popular historians of the twenty first century, this is a worthwhile and useful book of history via unexpected routes.
Beginning with that lynchpin of British history, 1066 and the battle of Hastings, Lomas tells of how Harold put up quite the fight, and how even after the battle was won, William had to assert his authority in many ways. Throughout this book it is possible to see how Lomas revels in an interesting death, and the fate of a corpse in pre refrigerated times. Not that this is a book solely concerned with kings and rulers; Lomas demonstrates that he can handle the factors behind Britain’s victories over France in medieval battles in the form of every level of the populace being highly trained in the use of the longbow which thus became the first weapon of mass destruction. He does not hold back in condemning kings as bad or criminally awful at being king, such as John or Henry VI, and gives cogent reasons why they were (to quote another popular history book) “a bad thing”. He explains why Margaret Beaufort was the ultimate single mother, and various battle disasters which led to huge loss of life on various battlefields. While this is mainly a straightforward run through British history, there are also diversions into chapters such as “A Man Carries a Pineapple Around Town” and “Some Yorkshiremen Crash the Economy from a Pub”. There are comparisons between the cost and complications of divorce compared with the possible benefits of selling a wife with examples.
This is in some ways a very personal view of history, covering the progress of Byron’s exploits and the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. Idiosyncratic in every way, there were times when the assertions in this book did give me pause, and one or two allusions to twenty first century life were a little strained. Nevertheless this is an easy to read and enjoy book which certainly presents a lively and vivid introduction to many aspects of history which may well inspire further investigation. There are certainly adventures here recorded with real energy and aplomb. It offers a traditional view of the growth of the British Empire, but also points out how it extended to an undreamed of size and impact, and its contribution if not introduction to the concept of liberty. This is a successful book in that it argues for a simple but effective view of British history and some of its impact on the world, leading up to the early twentieth century. From William the Conqueror to Shackleton, with a “Select Bibliography” and due acknowledgement to popular historians of the twenty first century, this is a worthwhile and useful book of history via unexpected routes.
August 22, 2022
-- Recommended with an asterisk --
Stick a Flag in It was an enjoyable read that fused genuinely interesting and informative history with a casual and humorous tone. For those familiar with Lomas' YouTube channel (Thoughty2), the book displays the same fun and silly wit and humour expressed in the channel's videos, and fans of his channel (myself included) would likely find equal entertainment here.
Unlike what you may get from a dry history textbook, Stick a Flag in It is written in a tone akin to your history buff mate chatting with you in a pub about events of centuries past. Thus, I found the book educational while remaining entertaining. And the inclusion of stories of individuals through history, rather than always focusing on a big-picture view of things, provided a lot of comical little tales worth repeating to your friends.
However, it is hard to ignore that the book (by its own admission) does take a glorifying view of Britain, viewing it through a rose-tinted lense and portraying its empire as having an overall positive influence on the world.
Indeed, the book rather suffers from an apologist attitude to Britain's colonialism, with uncomfortable sentiments of `sure slavery was bad, but we abolished it in the end and that's what really counts` and 'Britain's rule over India was actually a good thing because we were more benevolent than the previous rulers and we left them with the railways and democracy and cricket.' (For clarity, these of course aren't actual quotes but they summarise the viewpoint the author seems to take on such matters.)
Stick a Flag in It is unusually opinionated for a history book, though since it does market itself as a more comical and informal recounting of history this is perhaps not necessarily unwarranted. Although, Lomas does seem to neglect nuance in some of his views, such as his dubious claim that socialism is evil and is to blame for atrocities committed by certain dictators, while capitalism has brought nothing but fortune and prosperity to the people under its influence.
Despite this, I find myself hard pressed to not leave the book with a good rating as I did really enjoy listening to it. If one can overlook the occasional eyebrow-raising moment (particularly in the chapters concerned with more recent centuries), the book on the whole is actually a lot of fun. And so, feeling generous and recalling how much I particularly enjoyed the chapters on medieval history, I find myself willing to overlook its occasional downfalls (which are, on the whole, few and far between) and offer it 5 stars and will happily recommend it, albeit with a small asterisk.
Stick a Flag in It was an enjoyable read that fused genuinely interesting and informative history with a casual and humorous tone. For those familiar with Lomas' YouTube channel (Thoughty2), the book displays the same fun and silly wit and humour expressed in the channel's videos, and fans of his channel (myself included) would likely find equal entertainment here.
Unlike what you may get from a dry history textbook, Stick a Flag in It is written in a tone akin to your history buff mate chatting with you in a pub about events of centuries past. Thus, I found the book educational while remaining entertaining. And the inclusion of stories of individuals through history, rather than always focusing on a big-picture view of things, provided a lot of comical little tales worth repeating to your friends.
However, it is hard to ignore that the book (by its own admission) does take a glorifying view of Britain, viewing it through a rose-tinted lense and portraying its empire as having an overall positive influence on the world.
Indeed, the book rather suffers from an apologist attitude to Britain's colonialism, with uncomfortable sentiments of `sure slavery was bad, but we abolished it in the end and that's what really counts` and 'Britain's rule over India was actually a good thing because we were more benevolent than the previous rulers and we left them with the railways and democracy and cricket.' (For clarity, these of course aren't actual quotes but they summarise the viewpoint the author seems to take on such matters.)
Stick a Flag in It is unusually opinionated for a history book, though since it does market itself as a more comical and informal recounting of history this is perhaps not necessarily unwarranted. Although, Lomas does seem to neglect nuance in some of his views, such as his dubious claim that socialism is evil and is to blame for atrocities committed by certain dictators, while capitalism has brought nothing but fortune and prosperity to the people under its influence.
Despite this, I find myself hard pressed to not leave the book with a good rating as I did really enjoy listening to it. If one can overlook the occasional eyebrow-raising moment (particularly in the chapters concerned with more recent centuries), the book on the whole is actually a lot of fun. And so, feeling generous and recalling how much I particularly enjoyed the chapters on medieval history, I find myself willing to overlook its occasional downfalls (which are, on the whole, few and far between) and offer it 5 stars and will happily recommend it, albeit with a small asterisk.
October 8, 2020
I love reading the quirky bits of history, which make up our heritage, and Stick A Flag In It takes us through a thousand years, from the moment of William's conquest in 1066, right the way through to Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic exploration aboard the Endurance in 1916.
All the relevant historical ages are covered, each with fascinating snippets of facts that you really didn't learn in school, and all of which are presented in an easy to read format. The author has a relaxed style of writing so that it feels like you are having a conversation with him, just taking in the bizarre bits of history which make our isles and islands such a fascinating conundrum. There's nothing boring or stuffy about Stick A Flag In It and I soon found that I was quite often smiling at some unusual piece of history.
Stick A Flag In It can be read by starting at the beginning and working your way through, or you can, as I did, dip into and out of which ever period in history takes your fancy. Each section is clearly marked in the index so you can very easily jump from the Crusades to Revolution in a matter of moments. My first port of call was in 1216 with John loses the Crown Jewels in the Wash, I've always been fascinated that a king could lose his entire baggage filled with vast wealth ...and in 900 years it's never resurfaced,
Stick A Flag In It is for those who don't take their history too seriously but that doesn't mean its weak on content, far from it, there's been a tremendous amount of research undertaken to bring this book to life and all credit to the author for making a thousand years of history into such a fun and lively read!
All the relevant historical ages are covered, each with fascinating snippets of facts that you really didn't learn in school, and all of which are presented in an easy to read format. The author has a relaxed style of writing so that it feels like you are having a conversation with him, just taking in the bizarre bits of history which make our isles and islands such a fascinating conundrum. There's nothing boring or stuffy about Stick A Flag In It and I soon found that I was quite often smiling at some unusual piece of history.
Stick A Flag In It can be read by starting at the beginning and working your way through, or you can, as I did, dip into and out of which ever period in history takes your fancy. Each section is clearly marked in the index so you can very easily jump from the Crusades to Revolution in a matter of moments. My first port of call was in 1216 with John loses the Crown Jewels in the Wash, I've always been fascinated that a king could lose his entire baggage filled with vast wealth ...and in 900 years it's never resurfaced,
Stick A Flag In It is for those who don't take their history too seriously but that doesn't mean its weak on content, far from it, there's been a tremendous amount of research undertaken to bring this book to life and all credit to the author for making a thousand years of history into such a fun and lively read!
January 26, 2022
What an absolute Blast of a History Book , how I wish this is how we had been about when we were being taught History , if we had been I think many more of my class companions would have enjoyed the subject & embraced it far more . I have learnt new facts reading this laughed at the description of others , I am going to buy a copy of this for my eldest granddaughter who's 13 years old to read, as she like myself is a great fan of History & I think this book will fuel that love for the subject even more. #NetGalley,#GoodReads,#FB,#Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk,#
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, #, #.September 28, 2020
Sophisticated outstanding Horrible History style book for adults but deliciously written and delivered with a candid honesty, truth and passion. The chapter titles are glorious: Henry VI Becomes England's Shittiest King, A Fat man Fingers The King of.... I shall stop there but they just make you curious to read. Not for the faint hearted!
Arran Lomas has a natural communicative style. You feel like you're sitting next to him sharing a cognac while he twitches his mustache and relaxes you into his cool witty laid back delivery. Being a hugely successful presenter on YouTube for many years as Thoughty2 has seamlessly and naturally now crossed over into book form. I'm looking forward to the audible edition which I believe is available now. I laughed out loud...I was sometimes shocked at what we Brits got up to. Most of all I was entertained. I hope he does more.
Highly recommended.
Arran Lomas has a natural communicative style. You feel like you're sitting next to him sharing a cognac while he twitches his mustache and relaxes you into his cool witty laid back delivery. Being a hugely successful presenter on YouTube for many years as Thoughty2 has seamlessly and naturally now crossed over into book form. I'm looking forward to the audible edition which I believe is available now. I laughed out loud...I was sometimes shocked at what we Brits got up to. Most of all I was entertained. I hope he does more.
Highly recommended.
December 30, 2021
I would rate this as 4.5 stars. This was a look at our British History which was not only interesting but also amusing. The little comments from the author made me laugh at times as well as the little stories that aren’t well known from our history.
I loved the names of the chapters as they really did sum up the information in the chapter both brilliantly and amusingly.
This is definitely a book that you can dip in and out of and one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the history of Britain, even if you already think that you know a lot about it.
I would rate it 4.5 stars as sometimes I got a bit confused as some of the chapters in between the main timeline ones jumped about so sometimes I would think that I was further along in history than I was (for example I thought something happened around the industrial revolution but it became clear that it was actually around the time of Elizabeth I) but other than this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the fact that over the busiest time of year I could just dip in and out of it and not lose the information that I had already read.
Arran Lomas has renewed the love I already had for history with this book!
I loved the names of the chapters as they really did sum up the information in the chapter both brilliantly and amusingly.
This is definitely a book that you can dip in and out of and one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the history of Britain, even if you already think that you know a lot about it.
I would rate it 4.5 stars as sometimes I got a bit confused as some of the chapters in between the main timeline ones jumped about so sometimes I would think that I was further along in history than I was (for example I thought something happened around the industrial revolution but it became clear that it was actually around the time of Elizabeth I) but other than this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the fact that over the busiest time of year I could just dip in and out of it and not lose the information that I had already read.
Arran Lomas has renewed the love I already had for history with this book!
September 28, 2020
This is such an enjoyable read. If you've watched Thoughty2 on YouTube then you will undoubtedly read this in his voice and it flows like he's in the room having a chat and a cuppa. I can't wait for the audio book to be released so I can have another go. I'm glad I sponsored this great book and will be sure to quote it during my homeschool lessons. The image of William the Conqueror's burial has given me many chuckles and the laughs kept coming from there.
October 10, 2020
I enjoyed this humorous retelling of British history over the past 1000 years. There’s certainly something to be said for making a dry, dull subject come alive, and there are definitely times that the downright bizarre events of the UK’s past have been ridiculously funny.
I think this was a bit “blokey” in parts for me - I wouldn’t consider myself a snowflake but there were some comments about women and abuse which just crossed a little far over the line for my taste. These were jarring notes in an otherwise well-considered book.
I learnt a lot, I enjoyed the social history aspects and I can see my teenage sons finding this hilarious.
Thanks to the Pigeonhole for the reading opportunity.
I think this was a bit “blokey” in parts for me - I wouldn’t consider myself a snowflake but there were some comments about women and abuse which just crossed a little far over the line for my taste. These were jarring notes in an otherwise well-considered book.
I learnt a lot, I enjoyed the social history aspects and I can see my teenage sons finding this hilarious.
Thanks to the Pigeonhole for the reading opportunity.
December 28, 2020
Historical book filed with fascinating and sometimes horrifying stories. A lot of violence, gore and sex... all the things that built Great Britain.
I listened to Ross on Audible. Worth it just to hear the delightful accident of Arran Lomas.
I listened to Ross on Audible. Worth it just to hear the delightful accident of Arran Lomas.
October 12, 2020
Entertaining as Arran Lomas' YouTube channel.
The title says it all. :)
The author uses his same witty remarks as always, but only in a book.
The title says it all. :)
The author uses his same witty remarks as always, but only in a book.
October 5, 2020
This was a fantastic read! Such an interesting insight into British history spanning over a thousand years! And that's saying something for someone who isn't exactly a history buff!
It was really well written and I love that it was broken down into bitesize chunks. I loved the sub titles, some of which were hilarious and which also leads me nicely to the humour in the book. I loved it and it totally added to the overall experience of the book.
If you're a history buff (or even if you're not!) you should definitely give this book a read! It doesn't drone on and on like your typical history book making it easy to follow.
Thank you to Pigeonhole and Arran Lomas for the chance to read this book.
It was really well written and I love that it was broken down into bitesize chunks. I loved the sub titles, some of which were hilarious and which also leads me nicely to the humour in the book. I loved it and it totally added to the overall experience of the book.
If you're a history buff (or even if you're not!) you should definitely give this book a read! It doesn't drone on and on like your typical history book making it easy to follow.
Thank you to Pigeonhole and Arran Lomas for the chance to read this book.
October 11, 2020
This is one of those history books that makes you laugh and think at the same time. It was a very enjoyable read. I read this book via The Pigeonhole.
October 9, 2020
more than just a comedic journey
October 6, 2020
This is a history book unlike any I've read before. I loved the humour and the chapter headings were hilarious. I learned quite a bit too which can only be a good thing. Looking at other reviews I note that the author has a YouTube channel so must subscribe to that. Thanks to the Pigeonhole and the author for the opportunity of reading this excellent book.
October 11, 2020
4/5 - Thanks to Pigeonhole and Aaran I have very much enjoyed the bizarre and humorous tales of the last 1000 history of Britain, from the moment of William's conquest in 1066, right the way through to Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic exploration aboard the Endurance in 1916. The Normans and afterwards the Plantagenets created Doomsday book, Magna Carta, brought with them the feudal system from France and built virtually all the castles that exists now. Along the way I found out why there is a pineapple on Wimbledon trophy. It was during the reign of Henry III that the bakers' dozen originated. It was as recently as 2012 that someone invoked the ancient right to trial by combat when charged with a motor vehicle offence (although the court refused - as it would have been a fight to the death using a ram's horn). The longbow became the weapon of the common people and by Kind Edward III's decree, every man between the ages of 15 and 60 must practice their longbow every Sunday.The result was a nation overflowing with master archers! I'd love to have had the opportunity to train like that. The mythology of Robin Hood may have originated with the Eutace Folville and his gang of robbers. The first train robber in England Pudlicott was hanged and his skin flayed & mailed to the Westminster Abbey. The Black Plaque which resulted in 50 million deaths may have given the descendants of its survivors immunity to HIV through genetic mutation. Who knew! England recusants' homes were riddled like Swiss cheese with secret rooms & hidden doors called 'priest holes'. All this and I am only half way through the book. Along the way I found out the common law that gave rise to the saying 'rule of thumb' which is now very politically incorrect. 'Stick a Flag In it' was a fascinating book and highly recommended.
October 11, 2020
This isn't just another history book! Before I'd even turned the first page I was already laughing my socks off, and to my surprise, LEARNING at the same time! I've watched Thoughty2 on YouTube for years and this book doesn't disappoint. Do yourself a favour and buy it!
October 10, 2020
Thanks to the author and The Pigeonhole for giving me the chance to read this. It is a fun look at British history. It moves at quite a rapid pace and I found the first couple of chapters a little confusing, however it did settle down to a slightly slower speed and I really enjoyed the longer anecdotes. The section on food was really interesting and I also enjoyed finding out the origin of phrases such as “paint the town red”. It is a fun book and I would recommend it, although the humour may not be to everyone’s taste.
April 2, 2021
This reads a lot like an adult version of Horrible Histories, so I was generally having a good time finding out more about parts of British history that weren't always taught in school. The author included a few 'juicy' bits, although he does rely on the old "it is widely believed" trick to sneak in a few falsehoods (including the one about "rule of thumb" originating in a rule about the width of the stick a man was allowed to use to hit his wife). But despite those little annoyances, it still felt like a really informative and entertaining history book.
The tone changed when we left the Middle Ages behind and entered the age of the British Empire. I was expecting to see the sarcasm and criticism that the author employed in earlier chapters to deal out a few 'friendly punches', but instead the book became more praising in tone and started to read more like a sanitised version of history. Of course in such a broad overview spanning centuries of British history it's impossible to mention everything. But while the author spends time explaining how the British improved India by colonising it (doing away with widows sacrificing themselves on their husband's funeral pyre, the railway system, an efficient civil service), there is little to no mention of the British presence in other parts of the world. Not a word about the Boer War, no mention of Afghanistan, hardly anything about the colonisation of Africa.
It's a shame the quality of the book went downhill, because I had been having a really great reading experience up to that point. And in the end, those final chapters did leave me feeling disappointed and like the author missed his chance to educate his readers about the empire. Especially considering the yearning of those in power to return to "the good old days" of the empire, it would have been great if the author had shone a light on the darker side of the British empire.
(I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
The tone changed when we left the Middle Ages behind and entered the age of the British Empire. I was expecting to see the sarcasm and criticism that the author employed in earlier chapters to deal out a few 'friendly punches', but instead the book became more praising in tone and started to read more like a sanitised version of history. Of course in such a broad overview spanning centuries of British history it's impossible to mention everything. But while the author spends time explaining how the British improved India by colonising it (doing away with widows sacrificing themselves on their husband's funeral pyre, the railway system, an efficient civil service), there is little to no mention of the British presence in other parts of the world. Not a word about the Boer War, no mention of Afghanistan, hardly anything about the colonisation of Africa.
It's a shame the quality of the book went downhill, because I had been having a really great reading experience up to that point. And in the end, those final chapters did leave me feeling disappointed and like the author missed his chance to educate his readers about the empire. Especially considering the yearning of those in power to return to "the good old days" of the empire, it would have been great if the author had shone a light on the darker side of the British empire.
(I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
December 6, 2020
I really struggled with this book. The premise seemed to be to write a book for adults, to make history a bit more interesting and memorable than it was at school but for me it missed the mark.
Arran Lomas’ tone started out as similar to a satirical quiz show, with a sarcastic commentary running through British History which initially I liked...but this seemed to slowly lose its momentum, and for the final third of the book it returned to a dry list of historical dates and facts.
I also felt that the line between humour and inappropriate was crossed...and there was a tone of flippancy towards some fairly sensitive subjects. I felt embarrassed and was grimacing at certain points in the book. It was that moment when your drunk friend at a wedding stops being funny and you need to get them in a taxi home.
I think Lomas was attempting to make use of some lesser known stories to bring to life, and make historical dates and corresponding British monarchs and events more memorable. I always struggle with this and hoped that this book would help...but without the British Royal family trees at the start of the book (which only covered up to the Tudors and around 3/4 of the book) I would have had difficulty linking chapter to chapter with some fairly significant unexplained gaps.
I think the concept of this book is fantastic, it’s tone and structure just was not for me, and it took me all my willpower to finish it.
Arran Lomas’ tone started out as similar to a satirical quiz show, with a sarcastic commentary running through British History which initially I liked...but this seemed to slowly lose its momentum, and for the final third of the book it returned to a dry list of historical dates and facts.
I also felt that the line between humour and inappropriate was crossed...and there was a tone of flippancy towards some fairly sensitive subjects. I felt embarrassed and was grimacing at certain points in the book. It was that moment when your drunk friend at a wedding stops being funny and you need to get them in a taxi home.
I think Lomas was attempting to make use of some lesser known stories to bring to life, and make historical dates and corresponding British monarchs and events more memorable. I always struggle with this and hoped that this book would help...but without the British Royal family trees at the start of the book (which only covered up to the Tudors and around 3/4 of the book) I would have had difficulty linking chapter to chapter with some fairly significant unexplained gaps.
I think the concept of this book is fantastic, it’s tone and structure just was not for me, and it took me all my willpower to finish it.
October 8, 2020
Read through pigeonhole
I really enjoyed the first half of the book! Reading about the exploits of kings and queens again reminded me of why I live to explore museums and why I liked history in school. I felt it went off the boil though with the second half. I thought the reach of the book was then too wide so started to feel myself losing interest.
Well written and very funny in places though.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book! Reading about the exploits of kings and queens again reminded me of why I live to explore museums and why I liked history in school. I felt it went off the boil though with the second half. I thought the reach of the book was then too wide so started to feel myself losing interest.
Well written and very funny in places though.
March 21, 2021
So, first things first: while I did NOT receive this book for free, I was one of its co-sponsors. I helped finance its publication (cfr. p.459).
So maybe that will allow me to be a tad more critical of the result.
Now: Arran isn't an Historian. He, himself, admits it. Which is good, because that does help semi-justify its lack of knowledge of World History. But I'll get to that later.
Overall, the book is a fun read. However, I found it to be slightly misleading.
Let's start with the title of the book: "Stick a Flag in It: 1,000 Years of Bizarre History from Britain and Beyond".
This title isn't really true. It's the literary equivalent of YouTube clickbait.
The book reads more like a quick history of England. There are SOME "bizarre" stories in there, but overall, it's not actually a compilation of bizarre tales of the History of England.
And when the book says "beyond"...well, that "beyond" is, at best, referring to things that happened outside the borders of England BUT within the boundaries of the defunct British Empire. Arran never really goes out of those boundaries and mentions to the history of other countries are made en passant. So that was a disappointment.
Like other have mentioned, the book does start reading like a love-letter to England half-way through it. At a point, I was wondering if Arran had any blood relation with the House of York, 'cause when dealing with Henry VI, his words are so viscerally vitriolic that one doesn't even understand why he hates the bloody man so much.
But Arran's corrosiveness in these early chapters fades away almost as soon as Elizabeth I takes the British Throne. From there on, it's almost as if the mighty British Empire was perfect, everything it did was great and all the greatness in the World stems from its existance.
That lack of balance alone knocked the book down to 4 stars.
I mean, sure, you might love the British Empire and think it was a force for good. I too love the Portuguese Empire and I have absolutely no shame in it, quite the contrary, I'm very glad and proud that Portugal opened the way for the modern world. But heck, I can also admit that not everything we did during the Empire was good.
So why am I giving it 3 stars?
Historical inaccuracies.
As I said, Arran isn't an historian and he never deviates much from English history. However, when he does, he makes factually wrong claims which can only be justified by either lack of study or negligence.
Which I found particularly egregious when it comes to the History of Portugal (yeah, Arran, you're not the only one who gets to love the History of their homeland :P).
There were 2 major historical blunders that Arran made.
1 - The most egregious one is on page 297.
First Arran mentions the so called "transatlantic triangular trade" of slaves, which happened between Europe-Africa-Americas. Thing is, this triangular trade didn't actually happen across all Imperial powers. A consultation of David Eltis and David Richardson's "Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade" (2010) will show him that, within the vast Portuguese Empire, the slave trade voyages happened between Africa and the Americas directly. The traders didn't come to Europe.
Which is also reinforced by the fact that Portugal first abolished slavery in February 1761, through a Decree of King Joseph I, through his Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello, that prohibited slavery in Portugal itself. So slave traders couldn't come to Lisbon or they'd be arrested and the slaves freed.
By 1869, that decree was extended to the rest of the Empire.
Why wasn't it sooner? Because between 1761 and 1869, Portugal had to face Napoleonic invasions, the departure of the Royal Family to Brasil and a Civil War between King Pedro IV - who claimed himself Emperor of Brasil upon declaring Brasil's independence in 1822 - and his brother King Miguel I, who refused to accept Princess Maria (Pedro's daughter) as Queen of Portugal because her father had abdicated the Portuguese Throne and, therefore, forfeited his entire line of succession from the Throne. In other words, we had slightly bigger problems to deal with.
Only once the "Liberal Wars" ended in Portugal, did politics returned to normal and Portugal finished the process of abolishing slavery throughout the Empire.
However, we first did it before England. Sorry, Arran.
On page 297, the author claims that Portugal only abolished slavery in 1888.
This is obviously wrong and comes from what I said: Arran doesn't know much about foreign History.
It was Brasil - THEN ALREADY INDEPENDENT - that only abolished slavery in 1888.
As I've explained, Portugal abolished it in 1761 and throughout the Empire by 1869.
Those extra 19 years that Arran is counting refer to the Kingdom of Brasil. Which I'm pretty sure Brazilians wouldn't appreciate seeing reintegrated into the Portuguese Empire, even if just in a History book.
Also, when counting the numbers of the slave trade, it's crucial that one keeps in mind that, from 1822 onwards, most of the trade between Africa and Brasil was NOT being done by Portugal. It was being done by the new independent nation of Brasil.
These dates need correcting in the book. It's far too big a blunder to leave unchanged.
2 - On page 299, he claims that the result of Haiti Revolution "was the first independent, slave-free black state in the Americas".
It was the first...and the only one. And even in Haiti, the history of the supposed "slave revolution" isn't as romantic as some Westerners like to paint it. Rebels like Biassou, for example, defended the continuation of slavery in Haiti. Not only that, slavery in Haiti had already been abolished before the revolution. A Decree from Paris had abolished it and the French army was sent to Haiti to enforce the first revolts that actually wanted to continue slavery but only for some.
Only when the French abandoned Haiti and Dessalines took over, was slavery by white people abolished...through genocide. Dessalines wasn't a hero, he was a filthy genocidal mass murderer.
So maybe that will allow me to be a tad more critical of the result.
Now: Arran isn't an Historian. He, himself, admits it. Which is good, because that does help semi-justify its lack of knowledge of World History. But I'll get to that later.
Overall, the book is a fun read. However, I found it to be slightly misleading.
Let's start with the title of the book: "Stick a Flag in It: 1,000 Years of Bizarre History from Britain and Beyond".
This title isn't really true. It's the literary equivalent of YouTube clickbait.
The book reads more like a quick history of England. There are SOME "bizarre" stories in there, but overall, it's not actually a compilation of bizarre tales of the History of England.
And when the book says "beyond"...well, that "beyond" is, at best, referring to things that happened outside the borders of England BUT within the boundaries of the defunct British Empire. Arran never really goes out of those boundaries and mentions to the history of other countries are made en passant. So that was a disappointment.
Like other have mentioned, the book does start reading like a love-letter to England half-way through it. At a point, I was wondering if Arran had any blood relation with the House of York, 'cause when dealing with Henry VI, his words are so viscerally vitriolic that one doesn't even understand why he hates the bloody man so much.
But Arran's corrosiveness in these early chapters fades away almost as soon as Elizabeth I takes the British Throne. From there on, it's almost as if the mighty British Empire was perfect, everything it did was great and all the greatness in the World stems from its existance.
That lack of balance alone knocked the book down to 4 stars.
I mean, sure, you might love the British Empire and think it was a force for good. I too love the Portuguese Empire and I have absolutely no shame in it, quite the contrary, I'm very glad and proud that Portugal opened the way for the modern world. But heck, I can also admit that not everything we did during the Empire was good.
So why am I giving it 3 stars?
Historical inaccuracies.
As I said, Arran isn't an historian and he never deviates much from English history. However, when he does, he makes factually wrong claims which can only be justified by either lack of study or negligence.
Which I found particularly egregious when it comes to the History of Portugal (yeah, Arran, you're not the only one who gets to love the History of their homeland :P).
There were 2 major historical blunders that Arran made.
1 - The most egregious one is on page 297.
First Arran mentions the so called "transatlantic triangular trade" of slaves, which happened between Europe-Africa-Americas. Thing is, this triangular trade didn't actually happen across all Imperial powers. A consultation of David Eltis and David Richardson's "Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade" (2010) will show him that, within the vast Portuguese Empire, the slave trade voyages happened between Africa and the Americas directly. The traders didn't come to Europe.
Which is also reinforced by the fact that Portugal first abolished slavery in February 1761, through a Decree of King Joseph I, through his Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello, that prohibited slavery in Portugal itself. So slave traders couldn't come to Lisbon or they'd be arrested and the slaves freed.
By 1869, that decree was extended to the rest of the Empire.
Why wasn't it sooner? Because between 1761 and 1869, Portugal had to face Napoleonic invasions, the departure of the Royal Family to Brasil and a Civil War between King Pedro IV - who claimed himself Emperor of Brasil upon declaring Brasil's independence in 1822 - and his brother King Miguel I, who refused to accept Princess Maria (Pedro's daughter) as Queen of Portugal because her father had abdicated the Portuguese Throne and, therefore, forfeited his entire line of succession from the Throne. In other words, we had slightly bigger problems to deal with.
Only once the "Liberal Wars" ended in Portugal, did politics returned to normal and Portugal finished the process of abolishing slavery throughout the Empire.
However, we first did it before England. Sorry, Arran.
On page 297, the author claims that Portugal only abolished slavery in 1888.
This is obviously wrong and comes from what I said: Arran doesn't know much about foreign History.
It was Brasil - THEN ALREADY INDEPENDENT - that only abolished slavery in 1888.
As I've explained, Portugal abolished it in 1761 and throughout the Empire by 1869.
Those extra 19 years that Arran is counting refer to the Kingdom of Brasil. Which I'm pretty sure Brazilians wouldn't appreciate seeing reintegrated into the Portuguese Empire, even if just in a History book.
Also, when counting the numbers of the slave trade, it's crucial that one keeps in mind that, from 1822 onwards, most of the trade between Africa and Brasil was NOT being done by Portugal. It was being done by the new independent nation of Brasil.
These dates need correcting in the book. It's far too big a blunder to leave unchanged.
2 - On page 299, he claims that the result of Haiti Revolution "was the first independent, slave-free black state in the Americas".
It was the first...and the only one. And even in Haiti, the history of the supposed "slave revolution" isn't as romantic as some Westerners like to paint it. Rebels like Biassou, for example, defended the continuation of slavery in Haiti. Not only that, slavery in Haiti had already been abolished before the revolution. A Decree from Paris had abolished it and the French army was sent to Haiti to enforce the first revolts that actually wanted to continue slavery but only for some.
Only when the French abandoned Haiti and Dessalines took over, was slavery by white people abolished...through genocide. Dessalines wasn't a hero, he was a filthy genocidal mass murderer.
February 15, 2021
Was able to read this via The Pigeonhole. As others have said this is ‘Horrible Histories’ for Adults and I loved it. Some real laugh out loud moments as well as some brilliant facts intertwined with stuff I kind of remember from my very distant school days. I know some have found the commentary to be a bit close to the mark at times but I honestly don’t think that detracted from the book; I think we just need to be mindful it’s written in a very tongue in cheek style aiming to rile people as well as make them laugh so credit to the author for doing just that. I enjoyed the lightheartedness along with the education so much that I’m buying a copy for my Dad who I know is going to love it too.
November 29, 2020
What a brilliant, informative and witty history lesson! Every single chapter is captivating! The writing style which has made me smile and laugh many times makes this historical lesson very lively.... Even though I know a lot about English history, the author displays huge knowledge of details and anecdotes which renders this book unforgettable!! Highly recommended for lovers of history with a twist (or two).
Thank you Arran for letting me read your book on Pigeonhole.
Thank you Arran for letting me read your book on Pigeonhole.
January 30, 2021
I received a free copy of this via Netgalley for my honest review.
The first thing that caught my eye about this book is its name. It reminds me of the Eddie Izzard, 'Do you a flag?' joke. The second thing was the cover itself. One of my favorite kinds of nonfiction books is the one that tells the stories of the weird and wacky things that happened throughout history. So I couldn't pass this one up, and it really didn't disappoint.
Stick a Flag in It hooked me from the very start. The chapter titles themselves are hilarious and set each chapter up with a quick anecdote. The humor carries throughout the books with Arran Lomas throwing in his own opinions here and there. There are also a decent amount of comparisons that pull the effects of some of these events into the modern-day to show it's not all just dusty old history.
Each chapter is packed full of information, but I never found myself confused or lost. In fact, I was able to keep up with each chapter and follow along with the history. The chapters are small so it never felt like pieces were dragging along, and I enjoyed the little breaks of fun and strange, little facts between chapters.
My only complaint about the chapters is the ones talking about the creation of the banks and during the American Revolution. I found the former dull and those papers seemed to drag on, and since I went to school in the US I have had the American Revolution beat into my skull through every single history class I've taken.
The book moves along quickly enough, and I like that the timeline jump along quickly. It doesn't feel like it drags on through the years. Arran Lomas picks what he thinks is the most bizarre parts of a decade and throws into a fun narration and not only reaches but had me laughing out loud.
I found myself reading quite a bit of this book out loud to my roommate.
The only real complaint with the whole thing is I wished I would have a physical copy to read. This is one of those books I'd love to highlight passages and tab pages. Sadly I couldn't do that with the Netgalley version.
All-and-all I thought it was great and I really enjoyed it. This is definitely one I'd recommend to friends and would be something I would gladly add to my shelves. I also need to check out Arran Lomas's Youtube Channel, Thoughty2.
The first thing that caught my eye about this book is its name. It reminds me of the Eddie Izzard, 'Do you a flag?' joke. The second thing was the cover itself. One of my favorite kinds of nonfiction books is the one that tells the stories of the weird and wacky things that happened throughout history. So I couldn't pass this one up, and it really didn't disappoint.
Stick a Flag in It hooked me from the very start. The chapter titles themselves are hilarious and set each chapter up with a quick anecdote. The humor carries throughout the books with Arran Lomas throwing in his own opinions here and there. There are also a decent amount of comparisons that pull the effects of some of these events into the modern-day to show it's not all just dusty old history.
Each chapter is packed full of information, but I never found myself confused or lost. In fact, I was able to keep up with each chapter and follow along with the history. The chapters are small so it never felt like pieces were dragging along, and I enjoyed the little breaks of fun and strange, little facts between chapters.
My only complaint about the chapters is the ones talking about the creation of the banks and during the American Revolution. I found the former dull and those papers seemed to drag on, and since I went to school in the US I have had the American Revolution beat into my skull through every single history class I've taken.
The book moves along quickly enough, and I like that the timeline jump along quickly. It doesn't feel like it drags on through the years. Arran Lomas picks what he thinks is the most bizarre parts of a decade and throws into a fun narration and not only reaches but had me laughing out loud.
I found myself reading quite a bit of this book out loud to my roommate.
The only real complaint with the whole thing is I wished I would have a physical copy to read. This is one of those books I'd love to highlight passages and tab pages. Sadly I couldn't do that with the Netgalley version.
All-and-all I thought it was great and I really enjoyed it. This is definitely one I'd recommend to friends and would be something I would gladly add to my shelves. I also need to check out Arran Lomas's Youtube Channel, Thoughty2.
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