52 Times Britain was a Bellend: The History You Didn't Get Taught At School

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Perfect combination of historical fact and wit - a really great insight into history that isn't typically explored in the classroom. Andy Thistlewood, head of development for Open Mike, says: " James Felton's book is laugh-out-loud funny, so naturally we wanted to exploit his genius! James expertly weaves fascinating historical nuggets of Britain's bellendery with some obscenely funny jokes, so we're confident that his book will transfer perfectly to TV. Just when we thought we couldn't be more concerned about Britain's global reputation, James comes along to show us that we need not worry - Britain has always been a bit of a bellend." I’m already a bit of a history nerd, so I didn’t need this book to magically make me fall in love with the subject.

I continually thought throughout of the "those who do not know their history are damned to repeat it", as it is sad, but easy to draw parallels to the acts which continue to be carried out today. A TV series based on the book by James Felton, which focuses on the "painfully funny history of Britain you were never taught at school".Including starting wars with China when they didn't buy enough of our class A drugs, inventing a law so we didn't have to return objects we'd blatantly stolen from other countries, casually creating muzzles for women and almost going to war over a crime committed by a pig! A good subject ruined by a wet pompose little bellend. Who comes across as lecturing you and unfairly criticising people. People who achieved great things good and bad. If people followed this terds example we would still live in cave out of fear a house would offend. Typically a Guardian muppet All those flag shaggers pontificating about sovereignty and how they personally liberated Western Europe at the end of the second world war need to read this, particularly around Britain's role in drug wars, concentration camps, and recompensing slave owners rather than slaves at the end of slavery. A great combination of lively writing and painfully accurate history easily digested in an evening.

It's an entertaining read and no doubt has opened my eyes to some moments in history the United Kingdom would like to forget. For anyone with a good knowledge of history, you won't learn anything new in here. For those who would like a deeper and more nuanced look at these events, you'll also be disappointed. James Felton is a national treasure. Although having read this book, I'm not sure that's a good thing -- Fred DeliciousHowever, if you’re not in the same boat as me (or indeed, even if you are) please see the following reasons for why I think this book is a must read;

It pulled no punches on the truth and I LOVE how blunt it was about, let’s be honest, how much of a proper bellend Britain has been through the ages. As such, it is clearly not worth much to have merely theoretical sovereignty in the sense of unenforceable rights, such as the UK has acquired for itself by Brexit. What obviously counts, rather, is the actual ability of a state to influence the world around it such that its interests are safeguarded, and if this is more effectively achieved by membership in a supranational union, then the purpose of sovereignty is clearly attained, even though the formal description of such a state would, to the clueless observer, suggest that its freedom is reduced. We have gone round the world like a spoiled brat, taking and smashing other people's things in petulant ridiculous rages. Waste of time. I only lasted a few tales. Each “tale” lasts about two minutes, littered with unnecessary foul language. Disgusting considering the title would appeal to older kids. It’s about time I learnt what my history classes at school failed to teach me. I read an article in the Guardian recently that pointed out that most British history syllabuses completely skip over Britain’s role in its colonies and the slave trade, putting the onus on glorifying British Abolitionists such as Wilberforce. As we studied only one short module on the Agrarian and Industrial Revolution and the Peninsular Wars, even Wilberforce was relegated to a single sentence, shared with Shaftesbury and child labour reforms. Obviously I have learnt more in the course of my lifetime, but only in the past few years has it occurred to me just how little I know, given I’m interested in history. We went to a small museum in the north of England which had a major display about the slave trade and trading triangle and I was amazed because I had never heard of that and never associated slavery with Great Britain. My viewpoint has been changing and I think this slim and irreverent volume may teach me a great deal about the reality.

This is only a short list of "highlights" shall we say. The delusion of "British Greatness" that we tell ourselves is the cause of our own current crises and won't be fixed until as a society and a culture, we stop lying to ourselves. We've been lying for a long time though. Several interesting anecdotes, although each is treated only very superficially. This is not a history book, and I worry the research may not have extended much beyond Wikipedia. A very amusing - at times laugh out loud funny - account of the ‘history we’re not taught at school’. As the title suggests, the author takes us through a list of the bad things we’ve done throughout history - including the often insane reasons we use to justify them. The narrator is a serious let down, though. More so than the material, he comes across as patronising and annoying. Lots of interesting and no doubt accurate gobbets of history. But it's a depressing, wearing listen and don't buy it expecting comedy.