
Member Reviews

Celebrity books can go one way or the other, this one sits firmly in the middle. Good for those that want something light and interesting but nothing new for students of history.

I thought this book was great! It’s a fantastic mix of solid information and humor. Some of the government’s screw-ups are so wild they’re hard to believe—but honestly, not all that surprising. Operation Atomic Kitty really stuck with me—what a story! You can’t make this stuff up. Normally, I get tired reading informational books, but Ed Helms brings his own sense of humor in such a natural, conversational way that it feels more like he’s just chatting with you instead of you reading a book. It made the whole thing super enjoyable!
This book is a conspiracy theorist’s dream in the best way. Highly recommended!

Great but not so much shelf appeal. Was hilarious! Thanks to NetGalley for providing the eARC for reviewing purposes

I love the podcast, so when I saw this available for request, I ran to get it. While a lot of it is a repeat from the podcast, it covers such interesting topics, I don't mind revisiting the topics.

If history class had sounded anything like SNAFU, I probably would've paid more attention. Ed Helms takes us on a chaotic, hilarious trip through some of the biggest messes in modern American history—and somehow makes each disaster feel like a wild campfire story you can’t stop listening to.
From dropping bombs in the wrong places (oops) to training cats as spies (yes, really), SNAFU is full of head-scratching government decisions, bizarre plans that somehow got funding, and moments where you wonder how any of us made it out of the 20th century. Helms keeps it light and quick, but never lazy. It’s clear he did his research—and then sprinkled his signature humor over every chapter.
The writing feels conversational, like you’re being told these stories by that one friend who always has the weirdest trivia. It reads fast and fun, and if you’re an audiobook fan, I bet this one is gold with Helms narrating. Plus, the illustrations throughout add a great visual punch to the madness.
Even if you’re not a big history person (totally get it), this still delivers. It’s a perfect mix of humor and hindsight. And if you are into history? You’ll love seeing how these true stories are retold through such a sarcastic, clever lens.
Basically, SNAFU is a love letter to human error. It’s not just entertaining—it’s also a little reminder that sometimes, the biggest screwups make the best stories. Recommended for fans of Helms, history with a twist, and anyone who needs a good laugh with their learning.

As a history lover, I found this book fairly interesting. My issue was with the tone: with this book being based off of Helms' podcast, he takes a more conversational tone. I'm sure the audiobook version is fine, but sometimes it seems almost smug or something. Don't get me wrong, the book is an easy read and is filled with loads of historical screw-ups, but there's always a difference between listening to a podcast versus reading a book that almost seems like it was written with text-to-speech.

This is a fun (but not always fun) look at how the government has messed up a lot of stuff over the years. I like that a lot of them at least have something good come out of it like better safety measures or new laws so hopefully these things don’t happen again. Ed Helms does a great job of making it enjoyable to hear because he’s funny but he’s also done his research. I listened to the audiobook and he narrates it. I find history really interesting and these are things we don’t typically hear about. I’m happy I checked this book out.

This was both an informative and entertaining read about some of history's biggest mishaps. I liked how it was broken down into decades and each story was short enough that you could read if you had a spare 15 minutes here or there. Ed Helms also brought humor to each story, making them lighthearted and easy to digest. Some of these moments I was familiar with already, but there were a ton that I had never heard of before and was shocked to learn about. They definitely made me feel more competent in my own job and life!

SNAFU is a really fun look at big mistakes and told in an interesting and engaging way. I have not listened to the podcast but definitely will start now that I have read this. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

SNAFU (Situation Normal: All F**ked Up) is a book about history's mess ups. The book is based on actor Ed Helms' popular podcast. Each chapter is a separate story of an historical mess up, mostly American, since the 1950s. The stories are presented chronologically starting in 1951.
To the stories Helms adds a veneer of light humor. Sometimes there's a chuckle, but sometimes the humor just isn't funny and feels forced.
Using the word "Snafu" has a light hearted feel. Histories goofs. Silly things that happened along the way to now. But there's no way some of these serious mess ups are in anyway funny (the CIA dosing American citizens with LSD). From the start, there is a discordance between the seriousness of the errors and the humor. Plus, some of these incidents aren't so much errors as decisions made in a different time and without the assistance of 20/20 hindsight. I'd agree NASA getting the math wrong is a "snafu" but the Church of Scientology infiltrating the IRS? Where's the mess up?
But it is an interesting story. And that's what this book is all about.
The writing is fine, you'll understand the stories. Helms writes in a conversational blog style. But Helms sometimes spins the focus to something more "clickable" - as in the story of Jimmy Carter. The former president wasn't part of the snafu, he was part of the solution. But name recognition gets you clicks online. But this is a book, not a blog. The spin diminishes the premise of the book.
If you love history, especially about the military, espionage and government, you'll probably enjoy the stories. They are little glimpses into the past.

This was great! I love Ed Helms & history, so I was excited for this one. His humor comes across so well in this! I learned a lot and laughed out loud, what more could you want?? I will definitely be checking out his podcast.

Thank you Netgalley, PUBLISHER, and Ed Helms for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Sarcastic, a bit snarky, and an entertaining read. The artwork reminded me of old vintage newspapers, and really gave it a fun vibe.
I love how many interesting stories and facts are packed into this book. There are times it got really dry, and I started losing interest. I think there is something for everyone to enjoy though.

My thanks to both NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy of this new books that looks at history from a different point of view, not a recitation of boring facts and figures, but a view of history featuring the crazy things that powerful people, and people who should have known better thought made sense at the time, and how they went wrong.
I have always loved history, something my public school education did its best to grind out of me. Until high school my history classes always started about the time Columbus sailed the ocean blue, up to World War II. Never veering, never changing. In high school we looked at Europe, a bit, but even that ended at World War II. At the time I didn't question it, but as I have gotten older it becomes apparent why. History is full of facts yes, however it is also full of disasters and bad things, many of them caused by people who should have known better, paid a little bit more attention, or stayed on TV as a reality star and not gone into politics. Toy companies selling unsafe toys. Bombs falling from planes, not in war, but by accident. Cat microphones. And this bizarre need by many in power to blow up the moon. Learning about the weird, the crazy and the frankly criminal acts conceived and executed by our government, well that might make us question things. Questioning things is not allowed by textbooks printed in Texas, so that's why the world is the way it is. Ed Helms gets this. As an actor, podcaster, and a guy who loves history, Helms understands that sharing the stupid things, the things that go wrong, is something not only fun and interesting, but patriotic. Only by seeing the bad can we see what this country is capable of doing. And righting the course we are on. SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups by Ed Helms looks at the American century, or so they called it, from the other side of history, highlighting things that went wrong, because of nature, science and human folly, and what we can learn from it.
The book is based on the SNAFU podcast, which takes its name from a common military term about how an operation, a mission, of just a quiet day in the military is like. The word is also in the dictionary as something that could be considered a snag, or an uncommon occurrence, in an otherwise smooth idea. Again like blowing up the Moon. The book looks at America from the 1950's when a child's toy can come with real radiation to play with, up until the 2020's. The chapters deal with military actions, nuclear bombs falling from planes, far more common than the government wants to admit. The intelligence world, with cats being used to spy on conversations, to the MK-Ultra program, and even seeding clouds during the Vietnam war, to make our troops even muddier. Beanie Babies and their effect on the economy. With much more. Each chapter is illustrated, and the endnotes are pretty complete to learn more.
I didn't know the actor Ed Helms was a history guy, though I have listened to him on a few of the podcasts I enjoy, and was impressed by how he seemed so nonplussed by the subject matter. The sections are podcast short, but complete, and again there is a really good bibliography to learn more from. Many of these will be familiar, but some are new, and Helms adds enough to make everything interesting. I was surprised at the writing, very smooth, with a good sense of pacing, and very informative. I liked the illustrations, a mix of clip art, industrial pictures and a bit of Drew Friedman caricature.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. Perfect for people who wonder why we are we are right now. Just to show that we have always done bad things, stupid things, and no one has ever paid the cost. Especially in thinking that blowing up the moon made sense. Helms mentions another book being planned, I hope there is I am looking forward to it. That and listening to his podcast.

Mirror is the second book in The Lost Bride trilogy. This has some of the same pitfalls of a middle book in a trilogy, where it’s more of a setup for the final book and it’s left off feeling unfinished. It didn’t move the story much further, but it was still a fun time. I still enjoyed the story overall. The characters had a good amount of depth, and the dialogue was realistic. I was lucky enough to be able to listen and read this at the same time, which is my favorite way to consume a book. The audiobook is very well done, and the narrator fits the part perfectly. The story overall was great and I’m looking forward to completing the trilogy. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book. I am writing this review based on my own opinion.

I honestly was unaware of Ed Helms' podcast before I saw this book come out. But as a fan of The Office I had to read this. It's pretty astonishing some of the hilarious history anecdotes in here. I had no idea!! It feels well researched and believable even told from a comedy perspective. I think this could make a great audio book too. I'm ordering a copy for my dad. Ha!

A casual and humorous look at some of biggest blunders in history.
The book is organized by decade and each story within that decade is its own chapter. This makes it easy to jump around to stories that interest you or to take a long chronological stroll through history.
The writing is funny and informal. It made topics I was unfamiliar with approachable, but might disappoint die-hard history buffs as it's just a quick summary of these events. It's history as entertainment.
The photos included are stylized and serve as more of an aesthetic than a source of information, but the black, white, and red color scheme really pops.
Overall it was a good time. I was able to pick it up and put it down as needed without losing any reading momentum. I think it would make a fun coffee table book and I'm planning to buy a copy as a father's day gift.

Ed Helm's comedic voice is great, and it comes across in this novel. He's both funny and clear. Great graphic design as well, the collages are fun and add to the charm. The "situations" are nicely organized and selected as well (my favorite one was the acoustic kitty section).

A hilarious history of human blunders with a surprisingly poignant twist. As long as there are humans, there will be human error. It’s our legacy. Our love language. Our most reliable export. To err is to be human—and if you’re lucky, your screw-up might be so legendary that centuries from now, someone writes a book about it, and the world gets to point, laugh, and say, “Wow, that was dumb.”
Congratulations. Your future shame might just unite humanity in collective amusement. A true gift.
This book is packed with mishaps, mayhem, and magnificent idiocy, all served with razor-sharp wit and just enough existential dread to keep things grounded. And let’s be real: it is physically impossible to read it without hearing Ed Helms in your head. His voice practically leaps off the page, and honestly? That’s the best part.
So why the 3 stars? Visually, it’s not the prettiest book on the shelf (fear not, Ed, the cover is perfect) and I craved a deeper dive into ancient catastrophes. Surely someone in Pompeii said, “What volcano?” right before things got spicy. I want the guy who built the Trojan Horse garage door. The early cartographer who drew Australia as a large sandwich. The medieval scribe who misspelled a king’s name and triggered a decade of war. I want deep cuts.
Thank you for NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Ed Helms for the privilege of receiving this ARC in exchange for an honest review.