The classic look at the past with a very jaundiced eye-now updated with even more disheartening facts! 
The original "irreverent jaunt through the catastrophes, cataclysms and outrages that shaped our world" has sold more than 73,000 copies. This updated edition takes us from the Big Bang (it was an explosion, after all) to the turn of the millennium, with more than 10,000 new words and 100 new entries that chronicle the disasters, bad decisions, and downright evil events that have taken place since September 1991 (the last entry in the first book). With a light but informative tone and a handy timeline of events, this is addictively friendly fare for those who want a different--some might argue more intriguing-view of history.

The Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irresistible Compendium Of Catastrophes, Barbarities, Massacres And Mayhem From The Big Bang To The New Millennium

Humor & Entertainment

Flexner, Doris

FLEXNER, Stuart Berg

Puzzles & Games

William Morrow Paperbacks

The classic irreverent look at the past—now updated with even more appalling facts!
Fourteen billion or so years ago, the Big Bang exploded—and it's been downhill from there. For every spectacular discovery throughout history, there have been hundreds of devastating epidemics; for every benevolent despot, a thousand like Vlad the Impaler; for every cup half-full, a larger cup half-empty. This enthralling, enlightening, and devilishly entertaining chronicle of disasters and dastardly deeds brings to light the darkest events in history and the most abysmal calamities to strike the planet . . . so far.
88 BC: Mithridates VI Eupator provides an early example of genocide by massacring 100,000 Romans.
1347: Saint Vitus' Dance Epidemic shimmies across Europe like a deadly disco fever, leaving its victims twitching, uncontrollably leaping, and foaming at the mouth.
1888: Jack the Ripper stalks through the dark alleys of Whitechapel, England, turning the world's oldest profession into the world's most dangerous one.
1939: A Swiss chemist wins a Nobel Prize for developing DDT—and the environment gets another nail in the coffin.
2005: Hurricane Katrina devastates the Gulf Coast. In a classic double whammy, the government response also devastates the Gulf Coast.
And much, much more!

The Pessimist's Guide to History 3e: An Irresistible Compendium of Catastrophes, Barbarities, Massacres, and Mayhem―from 14 Billion Years Ago to 2007

Harper-perennial

An updated edition covers the period from the Big Bang through the turn of the millennium, in an irreverent compendium that identifies the lighter side of history. Reissue.

Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irrestistible Guide to Compendium of Catastrophies, Babarities, Massacres and Mayhe

History

Flexner, Stuart

Americas

Avon/Books

Traces the development of a variety of proverbs, and cites early uses in literature

Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings, and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings, Olde and New

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

From the evolution of mankind to the origin of ice cream, this refreshing and upbeat complement to the bestselling The Pessimist's Guide to History provides dozens of stories of success and triumph from which optimists can draw strength.

The Optimist's Guide to History

Historical Study & Educational Resources

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