Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up

Product Description
Sapiens meets The Darwin Awards in Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up, which shows how human civilization was built upon thousands of years of trial and error - but mostly error - by former Buzzfeed UK editorial director Tom Phillips.
In the seventy thousand years that modern human beings have walked this earth, we've come a long way. Art, science, culture, trade - on the evolutionary food chain, we're real winners. But, frankly, it's not exactly been plain sailing, and sometimes - just occasionally - we've managed to really, truly, quite unbelievably f*ck things up.
From Chairman Mao's Four Pests Campaign, to the sinking of the Titanic; from the American Dustbowl, to the world's leading superpower electing a reality TV mogul as President it's pretty safe to say that, as a species, we haven't exactly grown wiser with age.
Review
Cheeky and vulgar yet surprisingly erudite, the book is like Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens retold by a standup comedian a few drinks in.-- "Booklist"


A laugh-along, worst-hits album for humanity.-- "Steve Brusatte, New York Times bestselling author"


A timely, irreverent gallop through thousands of years of human stupidity. Every time you begin to find our foolishness bizarrely comforting, Tom Phillips adds another kick in the ribs. Beneath all this book's laughter is a serious question: Where does so much serial stupidity take us?-- "Nicholas Griffin, author of Ping-Pong Diplomacy"


Witty, entertaining, and slightly distressing but ultimately endearing.-- "Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author"


The author's approach is spirited and goofy...you've got to enjoy a book that explores weird manias...and misguided actions.-- "Kirkus Reviews"


Chronicles humanity's myriad follies down the ages with malicious glee and much wit...a rib-tickling page-turner.-- "Business Standard (India)"
About the Author
TOM PHILLIPS is a journalist and humor writer based in London. He was the editorial director of BuzzFeed UK, where he divided his time between very serious reporting on important issues, and making jokes. He studied Archaeology & Anthropology and the History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge, and is pleasantly surprised to be working on a book that actually makes use of them. Over his career Tom has been a member of a very briefly acclaimed comedy group, worked in television and in Parliament, and once launched an unsuccessful newspaper.