For everyone who's ever said, "We'll look back on this one day and laugh"--and even anyone who hasn't--Tim Phillips's Humans: A Brief History of How We F*ucked It All Up is for you. London journalist Phillips looks back on the whole of human existence to examine some truly catastrophic mishaps in areas such as the environment, war, colonization and more. And through his theme of "our deep and consistent ability to fool ourselves with stories and delusions about what it is we're actually doing," he gives his readers plenty to chuckle about.
Beginning with Lucy, whose fossilized remains introduced scientists to a new species they believe is the missing link between humans and apes; touching on the Cuyahoga River catching fire, repeatedly; and even analyzing Hitler's invasion of Russia (a rerun of Napoleon's fiasco), Phillips employs brilliantly sarcastic wit to make his history text lively, informative and superbly entertaining. He rubs off the glorified stories often used to downplay or rationalize monumental debacles and tells history like it is, in all its messed-up glory, such as the belief that many people thought the world was flat and Christopher Columbus was trying to prove them wrong: "Pretty much every educated person in Europe at the time (and most of the uneducated ones, too) was fully aware that the world was a globe, and they'd known that for a very long time."
Phillips calls out humans on their propensity for greed, and he identifies racism, often mocking the utter idiocy of rationalizations for bigotry--as he does in his coverage of Easter Island: " 'Aliens must have done it' is a remarkably popular and obviously extremely rational solution to the conundrum of nonwhite people building things that white people can't imagine them having built."
Those involved in wars most certainly never found anything funny about them, but Phillips not only tickles the funny bone, he elicits uncontrollable belly laughs. These tales include that of the German submarine U-1206, "the only craft in World War II to have been sunk by a poorly thought-out toilet," and the American Civil War's Union troops who attacked the Confederates during the Siege of Petersburg (Virginia) by running right into a massive crater. "Once the Confederate soldiers had reorganized after the shock of the explosion, they found themselves surrounding a very large hole full of opponents who couldn't get out. Union reinforcements kept on arriving, and for some reason decided to join their comrades in the crater."
Humans have a colorful history of mucking things up. Sometimes it's because of the skills we have that other species do not--seeing patterns, communicating, imagining the future--sometimes it's as simple as greed, arrogance or alcohol. But no matter the reason, Phillips delivers the story with clever style and verve, making it fascinating and fun. Tom Phillips's history class is in session, so be sure to get a front-row seat. --Jen Forbus
Shelf Talker: A journalist and humor writer takes readers on a hilarious history tour of the human race's monumental failures.