On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down by James Fell

The hilarious, irreverent guide to world history you never knew you needed, featuring 366 profanity-filled tales of triumph and terror, science and stupidity, courage and cowardice

Nazis are bad. The worst kind of bad. There are no very fine people among them. If you disagree, you won’t like this book.

Still here? Cool. You are about to receive a history education unlike anything you’ve previously experienced. In this uproarious and informative tour from ancient times to the modern day and everything in between, “Sweary Historian” James Fell reveals a past replete with deeds both noble and despicable. Throughout, he provides insightful analysis of sh!t that went down. Behold!

In 1927, actress

 Mae West was sent to jail for “corrupting the morals of youth” 

with her first Broadway play, titled

 Sex. 

She served the time and followed up with a play about homosexuality.

In 1419,

 church reformers in Prague

, vexed over their leader having been burned at the stake,

 defenestrated city leaders from a high window

. They died, because those kinds of Czechs don’t bounce.

If you were in the province of Shaanxi in China on January 23, 1556, then it sucked to be you. It wasn’t the biggest earthquake ever, but it was

 the deadliest day in history

.

In 362 B.C.E. a battle between Greek city states debilitated both sides, making the region ripe for conquering by Phillip of Macedon—aka Alex the Great’s dad—and spelling

 the end of Greek democracy

.

In 1343, the husband of

 noblewoman Jeanne de Clisson 

was unjustly executed by the king of France. Furious, Jeanne

 became a pirate

, selling all her possessions to fund a fleet and exact revenge.

During World War II,

 three Dutch teens used their beauty to lure Nazis into the forest 

with the promise of a good time,

 then out came the guns and BLAM! 

They sent them off to Nazi hell.

If reading history doesn’t make you want to swear like a mom with a red-wine hangover walking barefoot through a LEGO-filled living room, then you’re not reading the right history. Across the ages, over 100 billion humans have lived and died. Some were motivated by greed, others generosity. Many dedicated themselves to the art of killing, while others focused their efforts on curing. There have been grave mistakes, and moments of greatness. And that is why…Sh!t happens. Every day.

James Fell has a master’s degree in history and has written columns for the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Chatelaine, and AskMen. He has also written for Time Magazine, NPR, The Guardian, Men’s Health, and Women’s Health. The author of four books, he continues to post sweary history stories on his Facebook, reaching several million readers each month, and is one of the most popular writers on Substack.

Author Residence: Calgary, Canada