In my opinion, there are two ways to learn history: 1. you can memorize dates, places, etc, or 2. you can find the bits you think are interesting. The Rest Is History collects the interesting bits, in a fun way. For instance (especially after watching Game of Thrones), have you ever wondered about other disastrous parties in history? This book covers everything from the Loch Ness monster (how credible were the original witnesses, and how has this persisted?) to the mystery of Richard III and his nephews to Watergate to the REAL reason Julius Caesar was murdered.
This is a relatively short, light book because it chooses events that interest the creators. That's fun because you can learn about interesting things and then, if something is really cool, follow up on it. I love books where I find myself going online to learn more.
In this case, I had never listened to the podcast (I don't really listen to podcasts), but I naturally had to go online and experience the authors presenting their material live. Honestly, it always makes the material that much more interesting to me when I can hear and see the enthusiasm. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me access to this, which I wouldn't have even known about otherwise.

Thanks to Netgalley and Public Affairs for the ARC of this!

It was a very fun look at history! I have never listened to the podcast, but I will definitely consider it now!

A fun read. As someone else pointed out, reminds me very much of the old Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. It's a good book to pick up when you have a minute (aka: bathroom) and just want a quick story or laugh. It's a bit disorganized, jumps from place to place with no real sense of purpose. But, like I said, it's a fun read.

This was a fun, light read. Much of material will be familiar for fans of the podcast, but for those who want some amusing and historically accurate anecdotes, lists and jokes, this will do. Recommending for the bright middle /high school student and the cool history teacher.

As a fan of the Uncle John's Bathroom Readers, I was drawn to this title. I enjoy reading fun facts and light history before bed and this book was another one to enjoy. I loved the interesting subject and light-hearted writing. If anyone is a fan of humor and history, this book is a great choice.

This was such a fun book to read as it was filled with so many random, funny, and interesting facts from history. I truly enjoyed reading it.

It read like you were listening to a show. It was informational but with funny antidotes and jokes sprinkled in. Honestly, it reminded me of how I teach my classes. If people just spout facts, the audience generally gets bored quickly. However, telling the facts in an entertaining way makes the audience want to keep listening and learning. Because that is how this book is written, it makes for a pretty quick read since it’s not just history but it’s entertainment.

I laughed at some of the pretend interviews just because I know that those people wouldn’t talk that way. I enjoyed the alternative history scenarios that could have happened. (Those are always fun to think about).

If you’re looking for a boring read that just lists names, dates, events, and facts in chronological order in a monotonous tone, this book is not for you. If you’re looking to find the fun way to learn history, you’ll enjoy this.

* Special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Rest Is History is a selection of short tales of real-life history. Who knew that history could be so entertaining? This book would make a great read when time is short. Find out if the Loch Ness Monster is real while waiting at the doctor’s office.

Some fictional items are included within the history. There is a post-Olympic games interview on Mount Olympus with Augustus Caesar, Xipe Totec the fifteenth century Aztec god and, of course, Prince Phillip.

If you like reading interesting tales told in short spurts, pick up The Rest Is History. It is a perfect bathroom or before bed read. 4 stars!

Thanks to PublicAffairs and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

So enjoyable. A welcomed book from the hilarious podcast of the same name. If you love obscure history and tidbits, this is for you. I’ve always found to fascinating to learn about the bizarre and mundane of the lives that came before us. Holland and Sandbook manage to dig up the dredges of history that fascinate and befuddle. I highly recommend.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

"The Rest is History" is one of my favorite podcasts. This entertaining book is a collection of adaptations of episodes. I've listened to all of the podcast episodes but I still found much that was new and interesting here.
Authors Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are serious, trained historians who obviously LOVE history and having fun with history. I also appreciate that they don't seem to have a strong political agenda here. Some history books feel like re-education courses. They take various topics (such as French Presidents or the end of the Roman Empire or the history of Costa Rica) and present them as lists, tournaments, invented memos, or in many other ways. The history is unusual and educational and fun. Their spoof of "The Davinci Code" is worth the purchase price alone. I snorted and chuckled the whole way through.
A couple more of my favorite moments: Australian PM Harold Holt disappeared during an ocean swim and was never seen again. There is now a "Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre" in Melbourne, which the authors compare to naming an underpass after Princess Diana. AND - King Nebuchadnezzar had a Median wife - but the authors want to be sure we know that means she's from what is modern-day Iran - not that she's an average one.
The book is certainly funny, but I have great confidence that the history is legit. If you enjoy history I'd recommend this whole-heartedly.

I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.

This book certainly brings history to life in a quirky, podcast-like manner. Yet, I understand where you're coming from—the mix of humor and historical content might feel a bit unbalanced. It's like they leaned a bit too much into the jokes, right? Sometimes the humor took center stage, and the deep dive into history felt a tad overshadowed. Like they brought the podcast vibe but left behind some of the really interesting historical bits that made the show great. It's still fun, but maybe not as packed with facts as some readers might've expected!

I love history, but this was a little disorganized for my taste. Instead of telling groups of stories by region or chronologically, it seemed to be a randomized chapter order. Not only that, even though the history was often funny and well told, I often lacked so much context that it was confusing, and I had to do a couple extra googles. I had fun, I enjoyed it, but it was too disorganized and much too long for me to buy myself a copy.
I'm sure this is just a matter or formatting, as it was originally in podcast form, so if I listen to the podcast I'm sure of a lot of it will make more sense!
These creators are funny and relatable, and if you enjoyed the podcast, you'll enjoy this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️💫- {THE REST IS HISTORY- Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland}

Ok this is not at all what I was expecting and it started with me figuring out far too late that the author Tom Holland was not in fact the famous actor Tom Holland which is the whole reason I requested this book to begin with! 😐 Setting my disappointment aside, I began working my way through what promised to be humorous takes on major moments in human history told by the famous podcasters Dominic Sandbrook and (surprise surprise)Tom Holland but not Spiderman Tom Holland or dating the famous actress Zendaya Tom Holland.

Maybe this book was funny but if it was it went way over my head. I thought I was a history lover but apparently I don’t know as much as I needed in order to be able to appreciate the humor. So if you are a history buff or enjoy these twos famous podcast “The Rest is History” then go for it. If not pick an easier read.

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When this book discusses actual history it is very good. The writing is conversational with some good humour. The topics covered are fascinating. But I did not enjoy the spoofed television shows, sports events and the like. The book tried too hard to be funny at the expense of conveying actual information. At times I wasn’t really sure what was actual history and what was an attempt at humour. I ended up skipping parts of the book. Nonetheless, this is still a worthwhile read. Thank you to Netgalley and PublicAffairs for the advance reader copy.

I've been listening to the podcast for a few years now, and I have read books by Sandbrook and by Holland. I enjoy the podcast, I have learned a lot from the books. This book, however, seems to combine the laddishness of the podcast with almost none of the fascinating history in the books. There's an attempt at humor in practically every line and if the history has to take a back seat to the Dad jokes, so be it.

There's no order in the book, so that a World War II story follows a medieval account, and is followed by an imaginary World Cup of the Gods. There are phony interviews with historical figures, more sports-like match-ups, top ten lists, and many references to TV shows and celebrities. It's pretty entertaining, but not terribly informative.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

Five stars for the sheer volume of information presented in this book in an engaging and easy-to-read manner. This is an excellent book to pick up and read pieces of in short bursts or marathon sessions.

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are drunk. Or at least, I assume they were drunk when they came up with the wonderfully random list of topics that became The Rest is History: The Book Not the Podcast (I came up with the subtitle myself).

Do you want to know who the best Australian Prime Minister? How about the worst dinner parties ever? What was St. Patrick's deal? How ridiculous is The Da Vinci Code? All of this information can be yours just by reading this fever dream of a history book. I laughed nearly every page. I learned nearly every page. If you have a sense of humor then this book is for you. If you kind of like history but get sleepy when you try to read it, then this is definitely for you.

Their list of the best dogs is absolute rubbish, though. Gelert is number one and it's not even close.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and PublicAffairs.)

I tried to read this and am a big history nerd, but I couldn't finish this one. I am not familiar with the podcast, so maybe that would have helped. This is random, not entertaining and no logical order to the tales. Maybe check out of you are a fan of the hosts.

Thank you NetGalley, Public Affairs, and the authors for a copy of this book. I’ve never listened to their podcast, but decided to pick this one up because it sounded interesting. And it was! It was a funny and enlightening read that taught me a lot about history while also making me laugh. I recommend it!

This tie-in book to "The Rest Is History" podcast condenses the most important and fun moments of our shared story into one readable journey, from ancient battles to a list of history's top dogs.

This book is fun and easy to read. It has a strong UK perspective but is accessible to Americans as well.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Definitely fun and entertaining, you might just learn something. Important history lessons told in inventive ways that I haven't though of before like using tournament brackets or writing fake novels and using fake documents to help people learn while making it fun.