Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This is a book that assigns irreverent, frequently hilarious short articles about important events in history to each day of the year. May 12, as I write this review, is a tribute to Florence Nightingale that simultaneously praises the person who founded the modern profession of nursing while cynically dissecting the stupidity of war.

The intent, I imagine, is to read an article every day. It’s charming and entertaining, but it’s also absolutely not the way I read books (voraciously or not at all), so I really struggled to make my way through this.

Overall, "On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down" is a delightful mix of education and entertainment. It’s perfect for anyone looking to spice up their daily routine with a bit of history served with a side of humor. James Fell has truly crafted a gem that proves history is anything but boring. Highly recommended for a daily laugh and a newfound appreciation for the weird and wonderful events that have shaped our world.

Very entertaining historical almanac - something for each day. Profane, funny, and informative, obscure and well known history are represented.

While I feel like this book would be a good gift for a dad on Father's Day or for a history buff, I found these bite size bits of history to sometimes be too vague to really dig into tougher topics. I really noticed this when he brought up the Nakba. I think more care should have gone into what was included and how not having the full context of a situation can come off as insensitive.

A fun read for any fan of history who would like to learn more or have some new insight into things that happened on what could seem like a random date.

This is like those word-a-day daily calendars, except here for each day you get a 2-3 page political or cultural or historical factoid. The book ranges all over the world and all over the timeline to identify the outrageous and/or the thought provoking. The author's attitude is loud and proud, and both pointed and at times hilarious. The humor is well crafted, though, and not just obvious and smarmy stuff. It reads more like the funny opinions and thoughts of a smart friend who has flexible boundaries, no guardrails, a Wikipedia habit, and a mostly outside voice. While that might not be a style that appeals to everyone, I got a laugh, or at least a chuckle, out of most of the entries.

I went into this one thinking it'd be an "easy" read - it was gleaned from a year's worth of Facebook posts, right? But, while each individual entry is fairly short - there are 366 of them. (Happy Leap Year!) So, it still makes for a pretty hefty book overall.
As you could infer from the title, the author tells one story for each day of the year, and peppers them with curse words and snarky asides. Many of them are from World War II. but there are many other eras and topics included.
The author has an obvious disliking of the 45th American president, so this book would not appeal to his fans. But if you love history - facts that are widely known and discussed, and ones that you may have missed in your school days - this may appeal to you!

This book was incredibly interesting. I feel like I learned a lot even though I feel like this space in the book world can be pretty saturated. I loved it.

This was an enlightening and often times entertaining book. I loved the concept of writing about each calendar day with something stupid/interesting/important that happened on that day sometime in history. Imagine the Day-to-Day calendars that you tear off each day with an interesting historical fact, but in book form. Profanity in a book doesn't often bother me, but there is a lot of it in this one. I read a few "days" at a time so that it didn't overwhelm me.
Thanks to #RandomHouse #Ballantine and #Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

oh this was so basic. it feels so trump era, the humor the tone. snarky without introspection. not for me. sorry.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

I had previously read James Fell's Vol. 1 of this title and had absolutely loved it and was prepared to buy the second volume when this edition was announced. Despite the fact that I had read many of the entries on previous occasions, either through his Facebook posts or in the previously mentioned published volume, I felt like I was reading them for the first time. The stories chosen were interesting, the editing was sharp and the swearing was perfectly timed. My only complaint was that there were a lot of war based entries, but given that James is a military history major and humans love to blow shit up, it's not that much of a surprise.

Highly recommended for anyone who hates Nazis, loves to curse like a sailor, and enjoys learning history.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, James Fell, and Random House - Ballantine for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lot of fun. I would read some of them to my coworkers. It got so they were trying to guess what went down on that day

I enjoyed this book from the very beginning.

Some entries were interesting or instructive. Other entries were funny.

I didn't finish it because it was repetitive. I read day after day and there didn't seem to be any connections between them.

I think this would be a great gift for the holidays. If you picked it up on January 1st, and read an entry a day, it would be more enjoyable.

I recommend this as a "page-a-day" calendar. As such, I give it 3 stars.

I think we all had at least one history teacher who made the class boring. Uninspired lectures. Tired old information. No spark. Nap time. I know I did.

But then I had several wonderful instructors that brought history alive. Told the tales with some animation. Real discussion. And engaged the entire class in the learning experience. Those are the teachers and classes that made me have a life-long love of learning about the past.

When I was offered a review copy of this book by James Fell, I completely loved the concept. A truthful, irreverent look at the past from ancient to modern, with F-bombs and every other word thrown in for emphasis. What's not to love?

There is a history tale for every day of the year crammed into this awesome book. A daily snippet of profanity laced history lesson that we all can learn from. Lovely concept!

I got about halfway through this book, and ordered my own copy.

This definitely ain't your Mama's history book. Love it!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

10 out of 10 I have recommended this to every person I know. This little fact book is best when taken in small doses. Funny, historical, insightful, gut wrenching occasionally, it has literally a bit of everything. I cannot recommend it enough. It is the perfect train book.

I enjoyed this - informative, funny, and also sad to think about some of the things we as humans have done. I think perhaps the biggest thing this book did for me was that it left me wanting to know more about the world and what has happened in it.

The variety of things the author discussed was great - politics, wars, medicine, science, and animals, to name a few. If you are offended by a lot of cursing, this isn't the book for you. But I'd say that is obvious from the title :)

Absolutely wonderful to read one-a-day style, great lessons in the weird and wonderful that happens in life that most people don't even notice.

This is a fun, humorous, and somewhat irreverent look at things that happened in history on each day of the year. It gives a good general overview of the event in question, occasionally giving some additional history for context to make it easier to understand for the people who may not know as much about all of history.

I liked that the author didn't always pick the most obvious event for each day, as it gave an opportunity to learn about some eras of history that are less well-known. It was very easy to read, with a short entry for each day giving you an option to either read about history in giant chunks or at a day or week at a time!

I did wish that some of the entries were a little more in-depth, but that is likely me wanting to know everything about any topic I come across.

Overall, this is a fun way to learn some fun history facts in a "word of the day" calendar type format. I wouldn't use it as the last word on any topic covered, but it definitely gave me some ideas on events I wanted to learn more about!

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

Wow, just wow.

There's really not a lot to say here except that you will either love this book or hate it.

I love history, but even after reading hundreds of history books, I still learned a lot that I'd never heard of before.

Any history buff will absolutely adore this book.

And if you're a parent trying to get your kid interested in history, I'd definitely pick a few things from this book to share with your kid.

On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down

By: James Fell

Publish Date 10 October 2023

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Bantam

History

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read and review this book.

Good Reads Synopsis:

The hilarious, irreverent guide to world history you never knew you needed, featuring 366 profanity-filled tales of triumph and terror, science and stupidity, courage and cowardice

Those who cannot remember the past . . . need a history teacher who says “f*ck” a lot.

Nazis are bad. The worst kind of bad. There are no very fine people among them. If you disagree, you won’t like this book.

Still here? Cool. You are about to receive an education unlike any you’ve previously experienced. In this uproarious and informative tour from ancient times to the modern day and everything in between, James Fell, the self-proclaimed “sweary historian,” reveals a past replete with deeds both noble and despicable. Throughout the book, he provides insightful analysis of all the sh!t that went down. Behold!

• In 1927, actress Mae West was sent to jail for “corrupting the morals of youth” with her first Broadway play, titled Sex. She served the time and followed up with a play about homosexuality.
• In 1419, church reformers in Prague , vexed over their leader having been burned at the stake, defenestrated city leaders from a high window . They died, because those kinds of Czechs don’t bounce.
• If you were in the province of Shaanxi in China on January 23, 1556, then it sucked to be you. It wasn’t the biggest earthquake ever, but it was the deadliest day in history .
• In 362 B.C.E., a battle between Greek city states debilitated both sides, making the region ripe for conquering by Phillip of Macedon—aka Alex the Great’s dad—and spelling the end of Greek democracy .
• In 1343, the husband of noblewoman Jeanne de Clisson was unjustly executed by the king of France. Furious, Jeanne became a pirate , selling all her possessions to fund a fleet and exact revenge.
• During World War II, three Dutch teens used their beauty to lure Nazis into the forest with the promise of a good time, then out came the guns and BLAM! They sent them off to Nazi hell.

If reading history doesn’t make you want to swear like a mom with a red-wine hangover walking barefoot through a LEGO-filled living room, then you’re not reading the right history. Across the ages, over 100 billion humans have lived and died. Some were motivated by greed, others by generosity. Many dedicated themselves to the art of killing, while others were focused on curing. There have been grave mistakes, and moments of greatness. And that is why . . . sh!t happens. Every day.

Book Review:

This book was great. I gave it 4 stars. he is very heavy on the curse words, but you know that going into the book because of the title of the book. He does have his opinion on some issues that don’t match up with mine and you will find the same thing when you read this book. Not only does he have recent dates, but he goes way back in time. I love his intake on some of the subjects and cringed on others. I learned about somethings I never heard of before. You do need to careful because he is very anti nazi and Trump and isn’t afraid to let you know about. There is a story for every day of the year including the 29th of February. Like I said I really enjoyed the book and especially the history that I never heard of before.