1966 and All That

My [British] school history class was punctuated at the end of every term with a reading from the classic Sellar and Yeatman history-education satire "1066 and all that". As well as providing welcome relief from actual history, it served the more serious purpose to remind us that history is not primarily about memorising dates and listing truly /memorable/ people. Brown's work picks up where "1066 and all that" left off. He attempts a similar style, though he has picked up a more modern cadence, and his mock exam papers satirise the often condescending style of more recent exams. He travels through all of the twentieth century, getting past history and almost into current events. I didn't laugh as much at this version as the previous version, but then I am no longer 11. But the writing is fresh and witty, and as pun-filled as the original. I especially enjoyed the middle portion of the book (30s-60s), perhaps because it also served as a jumping off point to remind myself of some actual history I'd forgotten. Overall, this is a must read for satire lovers. You'd have to be pretty aware of the last hundred years of British history to get many of the jokes, so this isn't for the anglo-ignorant.