Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem, and Misery for Every Day of the Year

This book is loaded with fascinating facts about world history. Some stories are gruesome (lots of beheadings and worse way back when) and some are downright laughable. Love the author's writing style. A very enjoyable and enlightening read.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot, not because bad things happened to other people but because I didn’t know about 90% of those events, such as poor Harry Truman’s mother-in-law who hated him moving in with him and her daughter into the White House. A good example to what the author puts it in the introduction as, “No matter how lousy your day has been, somewhere in time, someone else's was so much worse." It is true that, in general, I find trivia entertaining, and since I like history, this book made my day stretching into a few days while I read it. I may even read it again, and I never read a book twice. The stories that stand out for me are quite a few, such as what happened to astronomer Tycho Brahe, The Great Emu War, when the sperm whale exploded in Oregon, Tom Shales going after Kathie Lee, Gifford, what the hotel-owner Steve Winn did to a priceless Picasso, the misprint in a 1632 Bible that says, “thou shalt commit adultery, The Birth of a Nation, D. W. Griffith’s 1915 film celebrating KKK, Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima’s ritual suicide going bad, what happened to Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, Clara Harris who were with Lincoln in the presidential box when he was assassinated many years after, and many other anecdotes all told with a clear, impartial language. The anecdotes in the book are in a specific order, from January to the end of December, however with no chronology as to the year but to the day; for example, what happened in the twentieth century followed by another event in the sixteenth century and vice versa if they were in two same or consecutive days of a certain month. This alone makes the pacing interesting and keeps the reader paying attention. The lesson gathered from all this is that bad luck, mayhem, and misfortune can happen any day and any time of any month, regardless of the year or century. Then, it is true that a good part of the book is somewhat dark and even graphic, but it is because the contents agree with the title, and no reader can fault that arrangement.

This was a good buy for me and for other lovers of quirky history. It’s a book that chronicles the history of people who had misfortunes happen to them, some by their own doing, some not. My favorite so far is this blind king who decided it was a good idea to go into battle. Spoiler: he died.

The ultimate waiting room book. This is my go to book for the doctor's office. Short brief stories that are very interesting and digestible in short spurts. Easy to set down when interrupted and even easier to pick up and re-engage.

I have to admit some of the stories are great but other just turn my stomach. There is nothing gleeful about many of these stories and now know of such depravity that, I guess, I just really didn’t want to know about. I am still very puzzled as to how the word “gleeful” could be used in the description of this book.

I've read some of the author's previous books such as Royal Scandals and Great American Scandals, both of which I enjoyed very much. So I read Bad Days In History with some expectations. I'd put Bad Days in History in the same category as his other books. Interesting, well-researched, and written in a very readable and entertaining style. This book takes every day of the year and offers up mistakes, disasters, bad decisions, or otherwise bad things that happened on that day in history. The premise is interesting, and some of the days have more than one entry. From ancient history to more current, the entries cover a huge span of historical time, and as such are but thumbnail sketches. But that's one reason that makes this such a good book. Some of the entries have tweaked my curiosity enough to read further on the subject. Highly recommended for history lovers as well as the general non-fiction reader.

I learned a lot of interesting history that I never knew. History lovers should enjoy this read.There are,some tales that are trivial, mist tell of a history not well known

I bought both Bad Days books for my husband for Father’s Day. They are perfect for someone who is hard to shop for.

As someone who likes to read a lot,but is very busy, I appreciate the short stories the book consists of. It makes it easy to pickup for a little while on daily basis

always interestingnon history

Buena compra

I bought this for my husband's bday and he is enjoying it. He says its not the sort of book you can read in 1 go but is good for dipping in and out of now and again. A good book for history lovers.

Premetto che è stato un regalo per una persona che sa apprezzare l'ironia ed è amante della storia. Testi molto simpatici, non sempre l'inglese è uno semplice, quindi non lo consiglio a chi non è almeno livello B2. Copertina morbida, senza protezioni, carta non esattamente pregiata (leggermente grigia).