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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
sarahbc93_'s review against another edition
4.0
Ah, the good old US of A. What a place, and what people. I remember them being the butt of some of the jokes of the earlier HH books so it’s nice to see them get a book all to themselves.
And it’s also nice to see a history book that doesn’t gloss over the horrific things that have happened in American history, especially given that this is aimed at children. It’s refreshing to think that the children that do read this book will at least be learning more than the propaganda that they would normally be subjected to.
And it’s also incredible to think that for a country that has only been established for about 250 years, so much has happened in that time.
And it’s also nice to see a history book that doesn’t gloss over the horrific things that have happened in American history, especially given that this is aimed at children. It’s refreshing to think that the children that do read this book will at least be learning more than the propaganda that they would normally be subjected to.
And it’s also incredible to think that for a country that has only been established for about 250 years, so much has happened in that time.
lavoiture's review against another edition
4.0
I'm going to read more of the Horrible Histories! I had an inkling of how awful the American/British/Dutch/French/Spanish settlers were, but didn't really know...and now I do, and I am appalled. It wasn't written as a boring ol' history book, but as a combination comic/chatty story that made history fascinating and awful. I mean, there weren't a lot of happy stories--they're called Horrible Histories for a reason. But I kept thinking, 'Man, why didn't they teach us this stuff in school?' Highly recommended!
cliobemuzedbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Horrible histories are always great fun, yet sometimes you feel like they focus too much on the horrible :-). Then again, that wouldn't really do with such a title.
tammie_2207's review against another edition
3.0
Read- July 2020 for The Reading Rush (different continent)
- Christ, America's history is dark.
- Christ, America's history is dark.
dev720's review against another edition
5.0
A sweeping and broad study of American history up to the 1960s, with special focus on the differences between American myth and fact. This children's book doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of US history, but presents it as it is with little exaggeration or embellishment.
tammie's review against another edition
3.0
Read- July 2020 for The Reading Rush (different continent)
- Christ, America's history is dark.
- Christ, America's history is dark.
sweekune's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Horrible Histories were books I adored as a child. Most of my knowledge of history came from those books and I loved how funny and kooky they were. My mum likes to tell the story of the time I wrote "Nil desperandum auspice deo" on all my SATS papers because there was a line in Stormin' Normans suggesting to do so.
So recently it came to my attention that my knowledge of US history is somewhat lacking. In a time when a lot of consumable media contains references from this, it was beginning to annoy me that I didn't know exactly what the references were from. I did what any adult would do and did a little Google search and confused myself further. I needed something easy to understand, succinct, and covering as much of the relevant history as possible... Enter Horrible Histories: The USA.
- This book is clear, chronological for the most part and, as it is really a children's book, very comprehensible. It covered most of the events I could think of plus lots I had no idea about.
- As you would expect from the Horrible Histories series, the book does not shy away from the more gruesome, vicious and bloodthirsty elements of history. There are many violent anecdotes told.
- Whilst this book does mostly focus on things from a white POV, there is a lot of focus on how the white colonists were not nice to Native Americans, BIPOC and other minority groups. It is made very clear that was was done to these groups is not okay. The section on racism at the back of the book was a nice touch for a twenty year-old book but could have been much larger and more detailed. The achievements and treatment of BIPOC, Native Americans and other minorities in the 20th century are not really touched upon at all which I feel is a really sad oversight and drags down an otherwise really good book.
I think you could do much worse than reading this book as a beginner's guide to US history but I would advise that anyone reading this should then go on to research more about the twentieth century and especially focus on the achievements of those (BIPOC, Native Americans, etc) who are omitted from this book.
So recently it came to my attention that my knowledge of US history is somewhat lacking. In a time when a lot of consumable media contains references from this, it was beginning to annoy me that I didn't know exactly what the references were from. I did what any adult would do and did a little Google search and confused myself further. I needed something easy to understand, succinct, and covering as much of the relevant history as possible... Enter Horrible Histories: The USA.
- This book is clear, chronological for the most part and, as it is really a children's book, very comprehensible. It covered most of the events I could think of plus lots I had no idea about.
- As you would expect from the Horrible Histories series, the book does not shy away from the more gruesome, vicious and bloodthirsty elements of history. There are many violent anecdotes told.
- Whilst this book does mostly focus on things from a white POV, there is a lot of focus on how the white colonists were not nice to Native Americans, BIPOC and other minority groups. It is made very clear that was was done to these groups is not okay. The section on racism at the back of the book was a nice touch for a twenty year-old book but could have been much larger and more detailed. The achievements and treatment of BIPOC, Native Americans and other minorities in the 20th century are not really touched upon at all which I feel is a really sad oversight and drags down an otherwise really good book.
I think you could do much worse than reading this book as a beginner's guide to US history but I would advise that anyone reading this should then go on to research more about the twentieth century and especially focus on the achievements of those (BIPOC, Native Americans, etc) who are omitted from this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Murder