1
of
1
Ask A Historian
50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 2,467 ratings, 226 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Ask A Historian. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
The First Ever NZ Children's Book Week!
We are so excited to celebrate kids reading books with the first NZ Children's Book...
What Lizzy's Family Loved on a Long Weekend Away
We recently went on a family long weekend away to Ohakune, a new spot for...
Why We Still Love Pokémon
Pokémon has changed enormously since I was trading cards at school and playing it on...
Paw Patrol : The Dino Movie Toys Have Arrived!
The new Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie toys have arrived & are ready to ship!
New Releases to add to your TBR (11th August)
There's a new release for everyone this week - here's your TBR roundup! Lizzy shares...
See moreA roller coaster ride through history revealing the best facts, figures, stories and characters from ancient times to today.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
'Brilliantly funny' SHAPARAK KHORSANDI
'Immensely enjoyable' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE
'Every page contains delights' LINDSEY FITZHARRIS
Why is Italy called Italy? How old is curry? How fast was the medieval Chinese post system? How do we know how people sounded in the past? Who invented maths?
Responding to fifty genuine questions from the public, Greg Jenner takes you on an entertaining tour through history from the Stone Age to the Swinging Sixties, revealing the best and most surprising stories, facts and historical characters from the past. From ancient joke books, African empires and the invention of meringues, to mummies, mirrors and menstrual pads - Ask A Historian is a deliciously amusing and informative smorgasbord of historical curiosities.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Ask a Historian by Greg Jenner is praised for being an immensely enjoyable read, accessible to a wide audience and written in a lively, engaging style. It successfully blends scholarly research with humour, intended to both entertain and educate. The book delves into fascinating and peculiar historical questions, making it both illuminating and entertaining. Reviewers commend Jenner's storytelling abilities, marking it as a delightful and informative exploration of history's quirks and wonders.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781474618625
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 27 October 2022
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 28.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 260g
Pages: 352
About the Author
Greg Jenner is a public historian best known as the host of the hit BBC podcasts You're Dead To Me and Homeschool History, his work on BBC's multi-award winning TV series Horrible Histories, and for his books Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity, From Bronze Age To Silver Screen and A Million Years In A Day: A Curious History of Everyday Life From The Stone Age To The Phone Age. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Also by Greg Jenner
View all-
You Are History: From the Alarm Clock to the Toilet, the Amazing History of the Things You Use Every Day
From the alarm clock to the toilet, discover the incredible history all around you in this hilarious and fascinating book from popular historian and podcaster Greg Jenner.Thought history was only in museums? Think again! Join Greg Jenner as he takes you on a trip through the amazing history hidden in the things you use every day. Did you know that...Hardback$3599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Dead Famous
'Fizzes with clever vignettes and juicy tidbits... [a] joyous romp of a book.' Guardian 'A fascinating, rollicking book in search of why, where and how fame strikes. Sit back and enjoy the ride.' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads '[An] engaging and well-researched book... Jenner brings his material to vivid life' Observer Celebrity, with its neon glow and selfie...PaperbackSold Out -
A Million Years in a Day
'A wonderful idea, gloriously put into practice. Greg Jenner is as witty as he is knowledgeable' - Tom Holland Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits the pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, BBC Horrible...PaperbackSold Out
More from History & Military
View all-
Saving Elli
One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Spy and the Traitor
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseSuicidal Empathy
The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Betrayal
‘Tom Bower is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic storyteller and a master of intricacies.’ Sunday Times The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. At a landmark moment in royal history, can King Charles overcome the scandals that blight the Royal family? Can the broken bonds between the Houses of Sussex...Paperback$3499Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Man's Search For Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Women's Prize WinnerThe Finest Hotel in Kabul
The story of a hotel. The story of a nation. When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistan's first luxury hotel symbolised a dream of a modernising country connected to the world. More than fifty years on, the Inter-Continental is still standing. It has endured Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a grievous civil war, a US invasion and the rise, fall...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Signed
The Chief and the Empire
The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential Māori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the Pākehā world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseBiological War
There is an invisible weapon among us. By the time you know you are a victim, it has turned you into a killer. A blistering new non-fiction thriller from the Baillie Gifford shortlisted author of Nuclear War (200,000 copies sold). A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic, and the collapse of human society. In this essential new book, based...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
20% offDiscipline
Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...Paperback$3200Usually:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Goliath’s Curse
Goliath’s Curse by Luke Kemp offers a radical retelling of human history through the lens of collapse, delving into what this means for our uncertain future. This narrative spans from the dawn of our species to the urgent existential threats of the twenty-first century and beyond. It's grounded in the latest research and a comprehensive database of more than 440...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Shattered Lands
'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
1929
From the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail, comes a riveting, fly-on-the-wall account of the most infamous stock market crash in history. In 1929, the world watched in shock as the unstoppable Wall Street bull market went into a freefall, wiping out fortunes and igniting a depression that would reshape a generation. But behind the flashing ticker tapes and...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
