Encyclopedia Idiotica: History's Worst Decisions and the People Who Made Them

The 64 A.D. burning of Rome during the reign of Nero . . . Winston Churchill's ill-conceived and disastrous World War I plan to invade Turkey at Gallipoli . . . the Maginot Line, built in France in 1929-34 in a foolhardy effort to prevent the feared German invasion . . . the 1950s thalidomide pharmaceutical disaster that resulted in at least 20,000 babies born with deformities . . . the 1989-91 misappropriation of company funds by publishing executive Robert Maxwell, and the collapse of his financial empire . . . the Enron scandal of 2000 that brought down a yet larger business empire. Chronicled in these pages are stories of corporate chicanery, poor military decisions, engineering disasters, diplomatic blunders, and other appalling, large-scale mistakes that resulted in ruin and misery for countless innocent bystanders. Here are baleful tales motivated by false hope, anger, greed, pride, lust, and many other instances of erratic human behavior. A selection of approximately 50 disastrous decisions are presented, each grim account summarized in a report of roughly a half-dozen pages and enhanced with sidebars and thumbnail-sized cartoon-style illustrations. Each account opens with its cast of characters, then sets the story's background before reporting the grim details and concluding with the unhappy moral. Here is a page-turner of a book that recounts some of history's most dramatic-but also catastrophic-moments. more

Price Range:$12.98 to $20.23 | 3 stores
Product Rating:

11 Reviews
Info:
Set Price Alert Save to Wish List
Tags:
Stephen Weir, Hardcover, Amazon, Buy.com, DeepDiscount.com

ComparePrices

title,desc	merchant	price	seeit
Smarter Choice Format: Hardcover, Publisher: Barrons... back cover] Those Who Cannot Remember the Past Are Condemned to Repeat it. George Santayana Mankind s past is strewn...	23,982 reviews *smarter certified	$12.98	See it
Encyclopedia Idiotica: History's... Stephen Weir, Nicholas Weir / 2005 / 256 pages Books	DeepDiscount.com 4,156 reviews *smarter certified	$20.23 Free Shipping Coupon 2 coupons available Code:No Code Required Detail: Free Standard shipping on any order at DeepDiscount. Expires:Aug-31-2010 Restriction:Unknow Code: Detail: Free USPS shipping at DeepDiscount.com Expires:Nov-20-2010 Restriction:Unknow	See it
Encyclopedia Idiotica: History's... Pages: 256, Hardcover, Barron's Educational Series	Amazon 11,406 reviews	$14.95 Coupon 1 coupon available Code:No Code Required Detail: FREE Shipping on orders over $25 at Amazon. Expires:Dec-31-2010 Restriction:Some restrictions apply. See site for details.	See it

*Shipping costs are based on an estimate of the lowest shipping rate available within the contiguous US, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Only merchants with this product in stock are listed (Merchants with this product back ordered have been removed from this list).

Do you see a pricing error? Please let us know by filling out a simple form: Click here

Write a review

ProductReviews60/100 (11 Reviews)

Recent Reviews

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Oct-25-2008; Brief and Amusing; This book is an amusing rendition of various acts of idiocy through history. Stephen Weir begins with Adam and Eve, who he regards as the original idiots, and finishes with the Boxing Day tsunami and the complete absence of warning of...; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-06-2008; Witty and DISinformative; If only things were that simple, as Stephen Weir suggests.I really liked Weir's style and the format of the book, and the compilation is really well picked. However, much of it fell apart after I researched some of the "facts" presented...; read full review | report as inappropriate

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-26-2007; Entertaining look at history; This book provides a concise and entertaining look at some of the most idiotic decisions throughout (mostly Western) history. Whether you agree with the author's choices or not, he has written an easy to read book that is both funny and...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-08-2007; Poorly researched, poorly written, poorly edited; I've read this book and found it to have many errors of fact. The basis of the humour depends on trust in the author that the historical accounts he describes are actually correct. Once you lose faith in the historical correctness of...; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-26-2007; Entertaining look at history; This book provides a concise and entertaining look at some of the most idiotic decisions throughout (mostly Western) history. Whether you agree with the author's choices or not, he has written an easy to read book that is both funny and...; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Oct-25-2008; Brief and Amusing; This book is an amusing rendition of various acts of idiocy through history. Stephen Weir begins with Adam and Eve, who he regards as the original idiots, and finishes with the Boxing Day tsunami and the complete absence of warning of...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-08-2007; Poorly researched, poorly written, poorly edited; I've read this book and found it to have many errors of fact. The basis of the humour depends on trust in the author that the historical accounts he describes are actually correct. Once you lose faith in the historical correctness of...; read full review | report as inappropriate