Title: Expected Little, Got Quite a Bit
Review: Let me suggest that prospective readers take at least some of the more censorious reviews with a grain of salt. This book was obviously conceived, written, and published as a "fun" read. Given that, it perhaps goes without saying that anyone even moderately widely read in history will find little or nothing new here. On the other hand, "serious" histories often gloss over the more titillating aspects of the subjects and events they address, and Farquhar concentrates on nothing else. And he does a heck of a good job of it. The one gripe I have is with the organization of the mini-chapters: there doesn't seem to be any. The individual sections are brief enough that this back-and-forth doesn't cause any confusion; just annoyance. Having said that, it's a good read and a great gift for a broad-minded friend you've been trying to introduce to history reading: who knew it could be such fun?
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