Calamities & Catastrophes The Ten Absolutely Worst Years in History

An educational and idiosyncratic account of the ten absolutely worst years in human history and what made them such stinkers. They say that history is written by the winners. Not according to Derek Wilson. In this fascinating, entertaining book, Wilson tells the story from the point of view of the loserscataloging the wars, disease, turmoil, and political villainy that have shaped our world more than historians tend to let on. In ten lucid and entertaining chapters, Wilson identifies the very worst years of human existence, from the destruction of the Roman Empire in 541 to the first year of post American Civil War reconstruction in 1866, from the siege of Leningrad in 1942 to the Vietnam War of 1968. Condensing 2,000 years of world history, he identifies the traitors, scumbags, and villains, whose lust for powerand sometimes sheer incompetencebrought such terror to their times. He delves into the natural forces beyond our control that have wiped out whole peoples. And, most of all, he shows how history has a horrible habit of repeating itselfone, he would counsel, we should make more of an effort to stop. Witty and caustic, educational yet diverting, Calamities & Catastrophesis a fast-paced, funny book for history buffs and casual readers alike.

Derek Wilson is one of Britain’s leading popular historians. Since leaving Cambridge, where he took the archbishop Cranmer Prize for post-graduate research, he has written more than fifty books, including Britain’s Rottenest Years, Rothschild: A Story of Wealth and Power, and Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man. He has made numerous radio and TV appearances.