Non Campus Mentis: World History According to College Students
edited by
Anders Henriksson
Order:
USA
Can
Workman, 2002 (2001)
Hardcover, Paperback
Read an Excerpt
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
I
picked up
Non Campus Mentis
as a high school graduation gift for my son because it reminded me of
1066 and All That
, with its hilarious take on the
Good
and
Bad Things
in Brit history. Professor Anders Henriksson, who edited this version of '
World History According to College Students
' suggests that its true authors (students at renowned institutions in the United States and Canada) are best served by anonymity.
H
ere are some gems for you. After Eve ate the apple, '
It was mostly downhill skiing from there
'. Democracy started with '
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
' '
Zorroastrologism
' was a
duelist
religion founded by Zorro. '
Yahoo
' was the god of '
Judyism
'. Arranged marriages were a '
mate accompli
' (that's a clever one). And Christianity spread via its promise of an '
eternal afterword
'. Know why Macchiavelli wrote
The Prince
? According to this source, he wanted a job with Richard Nixon. Why did Columbus set sail for North America? To establish rule there by '
dead white males
'. Did you know that Voltaire wrote
Candy
? That the airplane was invented by the Marx brothers? That Pearl Harbor is in Southern California? Or that Kennedy worked hard to avert the '
Canadian Missile Crisis
'? I especially appreciated the statement that Gandhi used truth as a weapon.
H
enriksson ends with his own amusing take on the significance of these erratic recollections of history. In case the reader is feeling smug, the author concludes with a '
So You Think You're So Smart
' quiz. He includes maps based on these historic malapropisms (I like '
Middle Evil Times
') and a post-2001 Epilogue on the Middle East that includes '
Shiites are Islamic feminists
'! So, if you enjoyed
1066 and All That
, or are simply ready for a prolonged chuckle, delve into
Non Campus Mentis
.
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