I really wanted to enjoy this book, but the formatting in the ebook version made it very difficult to follow, let alone enjoy, so I can't confidently report on how I rate this book.

On This Day In History Sh!t Went Down is a hilarious take on events happening from the beginning of time until now. Spilt up by month and then year, James Fell writes straight to the point and with great sarcasm. I definitely recommend this book to those that want a laugh while reading some sort of history.

This book reads like a 'word-a-day' calendar. There's a factoid about an event or events that happened that day or near that day, as it were, in history as the title suggests. I was expecting some of the facts to be real big hits and most just weren't. The book is prefaced with warning about the author's outright dislike for Trump and all things Nazi, so if you have a problem with that, this book is not for you. I got started with the plan of reading a few facts each night so I could cover the book in a few days. But as I went along I started to get a little too board with the framework for the book. For the most part each "day" of the year has a "fact" and these day's and their facts are covered in a couple short pages. I started skipping pages because I felt the author spent too much time with Trump days and facts and Nazi days and facts. I felt there's a whole world of history and only 365 days to cover it. Some facts the author writes about are not that long ago and are not that substantial, in my humble opinion. Some things people are going to find interesting and some things are not, it's just the nature of things, however I found most of the things uninteresting.

On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down was interesting, relatable and sometimes way over the top! I liked it but had to take it in small doses. Like maybe just a few a day. It would be a great gift for people like me who like history facts just because. I literally looked James Fell up on Facebook and spent way to much time on his site. The pictures had to this and I commend JF for taking the time to write this it was interesting. Just a side note, I love what he said about the Nazis! All of it. 4⭐️
Thanks Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley.

With a title like that, it’s not surprising that there is profanity sprinkled liberally throughout. I don’t object in principle, but the constant repetition gets old fast. It also doesn’t say much for Fell’s writing skills, which is borne out by such writing no-nos as starting sentences with “Being that.”

There are definitely some interesting stories here, like the details of the life of the so-called Tokyo Rose. Honestly, this would work best as a bathroom book or like one of those something-a-day calendars. Reading only an entry at a time makes the writing less annoying.

2.5 stars, rounded to 3.

The title of this book is enough to insure anyone with a curious bone in their body would pick it up and read it!!! The thing is.....the book is even better than the title. Not only have I read it several times, I've gifted it to several of my like minded friends and family. James Fell better be busy on the next book!

Something of note happens somewhere in the world every day but whether or how it’ll be remembered as a notable part of history is a question that remains to be seen; collected within On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down by James Fell are tidbits of daily history that educate and entertain readers about those moments worth noting.
Written in an accessible manner with personality through profanity and punny comments that help to make the information conveyed more engaging, each day throughout the year is detailed with a quickly told tale from history, both recent and ancient, connected with that date. As the daily entries are brief and generally kept to roughly a page this makes it easy to pick the book up for a historical factoid of the day but reading straight through the months of facts is still enjoyable and educational; however, when reading straight through it can get to be a bit much and it becomes far easier to see the predominance of Nazi-related content and commentary throughout the entries even while Fell makes an effort to provide alternative information of interest for that day so that focus is shifted toward something slightly different instead of repeatedly raising a similar point (which does tend to happen throughout history). While each day provides an opportunity to learn something new that might not have been widely covered through history classes in school, including a more thorough list of reference material provided would be a helpful addition as a starting point for readers to be able to dig deeper into areas that interest them.
Overall, I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down..Such a fun read. Easy to get through quickly. Super interesting inappropriate read. 5 stars

This is some funny shit.

Snarky, short, expletive-ridden history tidbits for each day in history. This book will make you say, "did you know?" to other people for months.

Each story gets right to the point (e.g. "What kind of shit do you have to pull to get "Terrible" added to your name, especially in Russia where their rulers aren't exactly known for their sunny dispositions? There is the story of some nasty shit Ivan did.") and jump around throughout all known history. Basically this is an easy book to digest.

Knocking one star because did this NEED to be a book? Um...not sure.

I like having everything in one place, but this certainly isn't binge-able. It's easy to read, but ALSO easy to put down. I'm not sure if this started out as a daily email, but that's how it feels, and I might have preferred that as a publishing mechanism--one sassy factoid at a time for a year.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

James Fell is a self-proclaimed history buff, and thankfully, he gets it right. The book covers each day in the year, but cross-crosses through the centuries. Mr. Fell is actually a good writer which he would probably credit to his Canadian education. He is irreverent, using language not often found in non-fiction; and often hilarious. Some might be offended by his language or his political point of view, but I loved the book!

Comprised of historical events, people, and lesser known facts told through snippets using colorful language and unapologetic opinions, this is a book for the reader who wants their history served witty and quick.

The format of this book is similar to the Facebook posts where these facts and musings originated; nothing more, nothing less. If you view this book in the same manner, then you will not be disappointed. I, on the other hand, was hoping for something a bit more expansive, but this never promised to be anything other than what it is.

If you like digestible historical facts accompanied by an informal presentation with expletives and open disdain for the horrible people in history, then I recommend checking this book out.

3.75✨'s

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine via NetGalley for allowing me to respond to this book with my honest opinions.

If you enjoyed Drunk History and History of the World, then you will love this. For each day in a year there is a historical anecdote that shone a light on a lot of moments in time I either didn’t know or forgot about. Fell does an amazing job with bite sized chunks of history told in humorous and sarcastic ways. I laughed out loud many times; however, it was also very informative. There was really no dull moment while reading this.

Take a book full of history stories you don't know and don't necessarily care about and mix in some swearing and anti Trumpisms and you end up with some great fun snippets of history. Every chapter is a day of the year and there is no connection between them, so you can read this book in any order or pick it up and put it down. I have it on my phone and read a few chapters when I'm stuck waiting somewhere. It is easy to fall in and out of this book. Its a fun concept covering stories across centuries and countries.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy. My opinion is my own.

Full disclosure I did not finish this book but I didn't need to. While this book is not for everyone it definitely is a great way to reread history with a sarcastic touch. I enjoyed getting up through March and this would make a great 365 page a day calendar (hint hint). It got a little repetitive with the bashing of certain historical figures but I also recognize that it is the schtick of the whole book. This would make a good Xmas present.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for an advanced copy of this novel history book that uses impolite language to remind us that history is bawdy, bloody, fun, funky and a whole lot of other words, and important to know, cause what goes around comes around sometimes even worse.

Well Kiss my Grits and call me a toaster who knew that history could be so much fun, fowl an fascinating, plus a few other words that begin with the letter 'F'. And best of all full of a lot of teachable moments and bits of history that make one go, hmm this seems familiar, oh wait we are living through something like this. On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down by James Fell is a day by day look at events in history, most of them bad, told in a very unique way with language that nuns used to use in private, or that cool teacher who was later arrested for possession with intent to sell did to act hip and with it.

The book starts at a beginning January 1, and proceeds through the months a sort of book of days of things that went wrong. Each day gets a few pages, telling of an event the consequences of the event at the time, or the far reaching events and similarities that we have to put up with today. The first event is a mutiny among the Continental Army during the American Revolution, protesting the governments lack of money, food, and to the people doing the fighting and dying against the British. This mutiny leads to a horse hiding in a second floor bedroom, and thoughts about how we continue to treat our servicemen and veterans today. Other events include assassinations and near assassinations, the purity of bear, the Gutenberg press, and how there had been an earlier printing press in Asia and more. Some are funny, some are sad, some again are a little too close to the current political scene, and make one realizes yup we are doomed to repeat a lot of stupid dung aren't we.

Once one gets passed the selling point of the cursing, readers will find a very interesting, well written look at events in history. This aren't long, so don't expect a dissertation on every event, but if one is interested, well read other books about it. The choices are fascinating, starting with a muting under George Washington, to quote the Simpsons That's unpossible. Which shows that Americans don't know much about history. Washington squashed mutineers, and vaccinated his troops against smallpox. Research that. Anyway, Fell's choices are interesting the rise of the idea of the Silent Majority, alot of America and its leaders doing bad things in our names. This makes for a brave stand and one I enjoyed. My only problem is that I have seen a lot of books with curse words, or to quote South Park Words of Curse, in the titles, and while they sell, people don't take them seriously, and people who might really get something from it might just pass it up. Though on the other hand people who normally won't read history unless the are told to from Youtube, might just pick this up for that reason. It is a conundrum.

A book that is really well done, once one can get passed the selling point of the language. I can see this selling well for Christmas based on the social media popularity, and the fact that it might get people reading history who wouldn't. And learning a lot about the world that they might never have known.

4.5 stars

Canadian author James Fell has a master's degree in history, an MBA, and was a health and fitness writer for many years. The Covid pandemic led to Fell changing his priorities, and since history was Fell's first love, he started to write anecdotes on his Facebook page called 'On This Day in History, Shit Went Down.' The Facebook entries led to this book, which is absolutely hilarious, but also disturbing. That's because human history is full of f**king terrible behavior.

That said, Fell doesn't hold back with 'language', so if that bothers you, skip this book. Ditto if you're a fan of Nazis or Donald Trump, because Fell really hates those f**kers.

*****

For each day of the year, from January 1st to December 31st, Fell describes something that happened on that day in the past. These include all manner of entries, including things like: a horse shitting in the house; an elephant being abused and killed; torture of human beings; public executions; slavery; colonization by European countries; genocides; the development of vaccines; the discovery of antibiotics; the Christian crusades; assassinations to ascend various thrones; the stabbing of Julius Caesar; Hitler's atrocities; and much much more.

To give a feel for the book I'll randomly pick 12 dates, one for each month, and give a brief summary of the entry for that date.

👉 January 13, 1968

Country singer Johnny Cash had a bad-boy image and was often drunk and drugged up. Cash's career was tanking when he performed at California's Folsom Prison on January 13, 1968, and put out an album. The album was a hit and turned Cash's life around.

👉 February 22, 1983

A 'notoriously terrible' play called 'Moose Murders' earned that appellation by having its opening and closing on the same night, February 22, 1983. The play is about a family that buys the Wild Moose Lodge in the Adirondacks, plays a murder mystery game during a storm, and people die. There is a moose that eats people, and other terrible plot points. Fell writes, "Apparently, there is ableism in it too, because making fun of people with disabilities is f**king hilarious. Just ask Donald Trump."

👉 March 9, 1959

On March 9, 1959, the first ever Barbie doll debuted at the American International Toy Fair in New York. Barbie had impossible proportions, and parents weren't thrilled with the doll, but over a billion have been sold. From being a sexy girl Barbie eventually morphed into a career woman, and she's been a veterinarian, doctor, marine biologist, park ranger, astronaut, judge, presidential candidate, and more.

👉 April 17, 1945

Hannie Schaft, a member of the Dutch Resistance during WWII, would use her beauty to lure a Nazi soldier to a private place. Schaft would then shoot the "Nazi assbucket right in his f**king face." Schaft killed lots of Nazis before she was caught and executed on April 17, 1945.

👉 May 21, 1932

Fell writes, "Today is the anniversary of when a dude with f**ked-up ideas about racial purity, who also cheated on his wife a whole bunch, first flew the Atlantic solo in 1927 " (Charles Lindbergh). The author goes on, "Five years later to the day, a much cooler person did it. Let's focus on her" (Amelia Earhart).

👉 June 2, 1692

On June 2, 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first person condemned to death for practicing witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Five young women testified that Bishop's specter would appear and pinch, choke, or bite them. People examined Bishop's body and found a third nipple, "which is totally a witch thing." Then later the nipple disappeared, "which was even more proof of her guilt because she obviously used witchcraft as a form of seventeenth-century plastic surgery to remove it."

👉 July 11, 1804

Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were fierce political rivals, and they dueled on July 11, 1804. Burr's bullet damaged Hamilton's liver and spine, and Hamilton died the next day. After that, "Burr's political career was as dead as Alexander Hamilton."

👉 August 26, 1970

For most of American history, women had few career choices, and in 1970, "there were plenty of states where a woman couldn't have a credit card, make a will, or own property unless she had a husband." On August 26, 1970, 50,000 people, mostly women, gathered for a protest march in New York City.

👉 September 28, 1928

The first antibiotic was discovered on September 28, 1928. Scottish physician and microbiologist Alexander Fleming noticed that mold on a culture plate killed staphylococcus microbes. Fleming's subsequent experiments proved that "mold juice had the ability to kill a wide range of bacteria."

👉 October 16, 1793

Austrian Marie Antoinette was married at 14 to Louie XVI of France. Fell writes, "Marie was a homesick girl who....spent lavishly on dresses and jewelry and parties....and she lived in a fake gated village built solely for her and her close friends." When the cost became known the French people were furious, and during the French Revolution, Marie was sent to the guillotine on October 16, 1793.

👉 November 4, 2008

Fell writes, "I don't give a shit if you don't like the guy. Comparatively speaking, Barack Obama was f**king awesome, and his election filled many with hope that America wasn't irrevocably f**ked." Obama was elected on November 4, 2008, and Fell observes, "Of course, there was a substantial portion of the American population that was just f**king seething over the Obama victory." Fell goes on, "Republicans made every effort to block Obama's policies no matter what they were. For eight years, the racism festered like an infected wound, becoming a major contributor to the election of the blatantly racist and vocal Obama critic Donald Trump in 2016."

👉 December 29, 1890

On December 29, 1890, the 7th Cavalry of the United States massacred the Lakota Indians during the Battle of Wounded Knee. "In previous years the government had seized Lakota lands in what is now South Dakota, and....promised to protect reservations from gold hunters and settlers, but of course, the f**kers reneged on that because they'd proven they were fine with genocide of America's Native populations again and again."

****

I didn't include the funniest laugh out loud passages, which tend to include a lot of cursing and insults (to people who deserve them). In any case, the book is very informative and entertaining. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, James Fell, and Random House for a copy of the book.

I don’t mind profanity or irreverence - in fact I find them amusing, generally. The problem with this book was that it never should have been a book at all. 365 days is just too much at one bite. This would have made a 5-star page-a-day calendar.

I liked the overall idea and concept of this book highlighting events that happened each day of the year. I could relate and found interest in some of these but I quickly lost interest. It was not because of the swearing. I just became bored..

This could have been executed and presented so much better than it was. I do like the idea of sharing history in all days of the year but this was not the way to do it.

Some other readers may enjoy this but it was not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, James Fell and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Bantam books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 10/10/23

I really like the idea behind this book and the execution of it was very well done. I learned a lot of new things for every day in history, big and small. I think this will be a very fun coffee table kind of book.

I think the idea of this book is great. Unique and crazy stories about different days throughout a year. But I have to say I lost interest early on and only a few of the stories really sparked my interest. Mostly just was trying to get through it. Just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bantam, and James Fell for providing me an advanced reading copy.