The Lowbrow Guide to World History is here to set the record straight, summing up our sordid past in terms we can all understand. Refreshingly conversational and breezy, it recounts events the same way you'd tell a friend about your morning commute or what happened on your favorite sitcom. Posing questions real people would ask Could Christopher Columbus even navigate his way out of a paper bag? Were the conquistadores stupid, or what? Which of Henry VIII's wives was most beddable? Who was crazier, Caligula or Nero?author Michael Powell gets to the bottom of legendary figures' motivations and methods and shows why we should still be interested in them today. Witty? Irreverent? Nontraditional? Even raunchy and sophomoric? Thankfully,yes! The Lowbrow Guide to World History reminds us how much we can learn when we remember not to take ourselves too seriously.