Rating: 
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: I thought this book was of great value if only because it dispells myth after myth on the romance of ages gone by. Some of the facts that the author dug up are astounding at the least. It's a must for any trivia hound or researcher.
Rating: 
Summary: Exactly What It Says
Review: The book is great. Though some people may not like its content, others will love it. It puts a twist on the things that teachers (professors, ect.) want you to know. It also gives you a chance to prove people wrong or elaborate on something someone said or did. The stuff IS true, so it makes it that much more fun, especially if you know a grumpy teacher, historian, or someone else that is so uptight that they don't like to laugh.
Rating: 
Summary: Average At Best
Review: An Underground Education has an admirable premise: fill us in on, or disabuse the reader of, various myths, misconceptions, suppressed facts, the "Arcana Mundi." And indeed, Richard Zachs does this with some skill, energy and wit. However, the information contained in the book, despite being divided by topics such as politics, art, and of course, sex, is too brief: By trying to touch on just about everything under the sun (or should I write, hiding in the shadows?) in the less-pristine history of humanity, the author falls prey to his own dislike of ignorance, dogmatic teaching, and general ineptness among supposed scholars and luminaries. For example, in his discussion of the long-toed shoes, or poulaines, which he rightly places after his juicily giddy discussion of codpieces, he fails to explore the equally juicy history of the poulaines; European folk beliefs equated foot-fize with penis-size (think also of noses...) and the tips of the poulaines were thus phallic symbols. The tops of poulaines were also often painted with images of male genitals. The author also fails completely to discuss (was he even aware) the female-analogue of the codpiece: the merkin, or a wig for the pubes...One has to dig for this sort of information. To look at the bibliography, the author consults with, at most, two or three sources when writing his entries. In effect, he has done little of his own research, despite crowing about his own linguistic abilities. Ovid's Ars Amatoria surely belongs somewhere in this book; sadly, Latin is not listed as one of the author's mastered languages. There are good translations, to be sure. Another example: Mr. Zachs labors to tell us about Joan of Arc's clothing, and correctly points out the her then-crime of wearing men's clothing; and also that she died at the hands (or whims?) of France and the Holy Catholic Church. However, he fails to strip away the saviour/warrior myths of St. Joan. She was an extraordinary young woman in many ways, but she was not at all like the statuesque Milla Jovovich hacking her way through the enemies of France. Mr. Zachs simply has not bothered, in several instances, to question his own assumptions and erroneous teachings, and this harms an otherwise entertaining and at times biting social commentary. Other nit-picking: Either his editor was asleep, or Mr. Zachs himself missed the boat again and again when going over the galleys before the final printing: weird punctuation, odd word-choice and usage, fanciful grammer. This could have been a much better book, had he narrowed his scope, looked more deeply into his subjects, and learned how to punctuate.
Rating:
Summary: An Underground Education
Review: This book was excellent! There are interesting little tid bits about all the people in history that we once thought we "perfect." I would definately recommend this to any high school or college students that want to take a look at history the way that it really was!
Rating: 
Summary: Well it's okay, but...
Review: This was a fascinating book, no doubt. There were a few things that turned me off, though, such as sex pouring off nearly every page (there's a chapter devoted to it, but it goes way beyond that), the intense focus on the grotesque (I'm not squeamish really but there's more to history), and the author's obvious bias toward Christianity (a chapter was called "Religion" but focuses only on one -- anything positive at all was glossed over very quickly, and often mocked). Otherwise it was an interesting book, although there are better historical trivia books out there.
Rating:
Summary: Can guillotined heads still think?
Review: If you're interested in reading answers to questions like that, you'll love this book, which has a detailed answer to the question. If you're wondering about underwear over the ages or religious cults where people have their genitals removed and so on, this is the book. Plus, it's in a very tastefully laid out well-written and well-illustrated form, so you never have to feel embarrassed to have it around the house, even as you use it to pursue the answers to some rather unseemly questions.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book...
Review: This book was definitely one of the better trivia-oriented books I have read. It goes deep into the details that everyone wants to know about, in some strange fascinating sort-of way, such as Queen Anne and her merry maids at the dinner table, or strange facts on corsets. It's got everything from executions to cults. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning the little quirks in history.
Rating:
Summary: A must have book for anyone interested in anything!
Review: A thoroughly enjoyable - and informative - read which touches on myriad subjects. It's the perfect book for a vacation since you can dip into it for a few minutes or for a dreary flight. I loved the writing style and the choice of subjects kept me turning pages. Sure, I knew some of this stuff - but it was worthwhile seeing it again just to have the chance to read the rest of the book. My copy went on the coffee table rather than the bookshelf so everyone can enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Read it!
Review: Who would read a textbook just for fun? I would and so would you if the author were Richard Zacks. He shows us the truth behind history and makes it such an interesting, eyebrow-raising trip through time that one hardly notices s/he is actually learning something in the process. This is a great supplement to those things that are common knowledge, making us take a second look at historical "facts."
Rating:
Summary: Remarkablely fascinating!!!
Review: When I start reading this book, I couldn't stop reading until my eyes turn red and I could feel smoke in my eyes for a couple of days. Now(two weeks after I recieved this book from amazon), I've finally read through this amazing book(hurray!). You can't miss this one, it's one of the best(and the funniest)of its kind!!
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