the decline and fall of practically everybody
published
The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody: Great Figures of History Hilariously Humbled
by Will Cuppy
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books-Imports; (August 2003)
ISBN: 088029809X
This books starts out great, presenting ancient Egypt in a light-hearted, zesty manner. Cuppy’s sense of humor is cute, and some of the comments are side-splittingly funny. The nature of the narrative makes some of the history suspect, but I presume that most of it is reasonably legitimate.
After Egypt Cuppy tackles Ancient Greece. The writing is much the same, but the effect is largely diminished. The jabs and barbs just aren’t as funny. Moving up through history, Cuppy often spends more time talking about people related to the chapter’s subject than the subject themselves!
Overall an enteraining, easy-to-read book provided you take it in small doses: one chapter at a time. The later portions are a dizzying collection of names and dates and useless information, but I suppose that’s history for you, eh?