Rating: 
Summary: History, Cuppy Style
Review: I received my first copy of this book as a sophomore in high school. In the two decades since then, I've always had a copy of Cuppy's book in my possession in one form or another. Cuppy's crisp writing and attention to weird and unusual facts gave me a renewed love of history that has stayed with me.If you know someone who loves history--or someone in whom you'd like to instill a love of history, then The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody is a good start in the right direction.
Rating:
Summary: VERY clever and VERY funny
Review: I stumbled across this book and as I am big fan of history made amusing ("1066 and All That" is another classic in this genre) I immediately bought it. And I'm glad I did. It is enormously amusing and funnily enough appeas to be historically accurate. The text is funny but the footnotes add another dimension to the humour. Sometimes they are applicable, and sometimes not, but they will teach you all manner of things not actually included in the text! If you are a history student or just someome who is interested in great past lives, do yourself a favour and read this book. You will be entertained.
Rating:
Summary: The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody
Review: If Will Cuppy's book were used to teach history in high school, history would be our favorite subject. The facts are correct and the voice of the author is tart and comedic. I have purchased several of these books for friends and family for Christmas just because I'm a GREAT Santa. If a company would issue an audiobook, David Hyde Pierce's (of Frazier fame) voice would be a perfect match and provide the ultimate in listening pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh-out-loud humor for the educated .
Review: In this and his various other books, Will Cuoppy he does a dead-on takeoff on what passed for "popular" history and science writing in his time. "The Decline and Fall..." is his masterpiece, a posthumously-published work on the failings and peculiarities of the famous and infamous in history. This is laugh-out-loud humor for the educated. This book is totally irreverent towards everything but the truth -- and even though it was written in the 1940s, it remains fresh and timely: Cuppy does not show us the builders of Western Civilization as heroes nor as villains, but as people who got into some very funny stuff (in all senses of the word). As soon as I discovered Cuppy I knew I had to get as much of his material as I could get my hands on -- and he has never disappointed me. Brainy and funny, this is an author deserving of being much better known.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh-out-loud humor for the educated .
Review: In this and his various other books, Will Cuoppy he does a dead-on takeoff on what passed for "popular" history and science writing in his time. "The Decline and Fall..." is his masterpiece, a posthumously-published work on the failings and peculiarities of the famous and infamous in history. This is laugh-out-loud humor for the educated. This book is totally irreverent towards everything but the truth -- and even though it was written in the 1940s, it remains fresh and timely: Cuppy does not show us the builders of Western Civilization as heroes nor as villains, but as people who got into some very funny stuff (in all senses of the word). As soon as I discovered Cuppy I knew I had to get as much of his material as I could get my hands on -- and he has never disappointed me. Brainy and funny, this is an author deserving of being much better known.
Rating:
Summary: man, will cuppy...
Review: is amazing. please do yourselves a favor and run out and read this book. right now. I'm serious. it's for your own good. and when you've finished it and love it as much as I do, you can send me flowers and thank you cards, because I did you the great favor of recommending that you read it. you better be buying it already. right now. stop reading this and hurry up. you're welcome. d <3
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely hilarious!
Review: The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody is a work of genius. Will Cuppy masterfully combines historical fact with his irreverent observations of various personages. Here are Cleopatra, King James, and Lucrezia Borgia as you've never seen them before, just to name a few. Not only will you burst your seams laughing, but you'll even learn something!
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Summary: A hilarious look at the 'good old days'
Review: This book is a gem. Cuppy deflates the so-called 'wisdom of the ancients' through his accurate yet hilarious biographies of some of history's best-known figures. By doing so, he reminds us of how far we have progressed since those dark days of war, disease, and famine. It's a very funny book, of course, but one with a message: the good old days weren't all that good.
Rating:
Summary: If only school were this much fun.....
Review: This book is a must read for anyone looking for a good laugh, or a light hearted but serious look back into history. The book has factually accurate information combined with footnotes that let you see such historical figures as Attila the Hun and Christopher Columbus in a whole new (and often sidesplitting) light.
Rating: 
Summary: Know your history
Review: This book is a scream, but I caution you: know your history before you pick it up and take it all for fact. The author makes free use of dubious sources for many of the people he writes about, but he does give a general historical overview of each person AND he is VERY funny. This is a good book for reading aloud to a friend or family member. (Again, though, it helps if the person to whom you are reading is also fairly well versed in history.)
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