Thursday, October 7, 2010

Spotlight and Giveaway: THE MENTAL FLOSS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

CLOSED.

Rules for entering this giveaway
are at the bottom of this post.

 The (Almost) Complete and (Entirely) Entertaining Story of America

Pub. Date: October 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardcover, 420pp
Sales Rank: 1,344
ISBN-13: 9780061928222

Description (from the publisher):

Was Abraham Lincoln really a heroic defender of liberty and freedom?

Were the Sixties actually a groovy time of peace and love?

Has the U.S. always been dependent on foreign oil?

Does internet dating really work?

Americans are patriotic people: a 2008 poll showed 72% believe the U.S.A. is “the best nation in the world.”  But it turns out that “patriotic” and “historically knowledgeable” are two different things: in recent surveys, almost half of American’s didn’t know who led the Continental Army to victory (some guy named George), 25% of high school students believed that Columbus set sail after 1750, and a third couldn’t say in which century the American Revolution occurred.  Is this shocking lack of knowledge due to the fact that THE MENTAL FLOSS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES: The (Almost) Complete and (Entirely) Entertaining Story of America (Harper: October 5, 2010; Hardcover; $24.99) won’t be on shelves until October?  Possibly so.

In trademark smart-aleck style, the geniuses at mental_floss provide the history book you’ve always wished you had.  This hilarious romp through our nation’s past reveals little-known truths, exposes lies our teachers told us, and provides insight into the oddities of America’s most infamous citizens.  THE MENTAL FLOSS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES spans America’s entire history, from social and political events to major phenomena in science, literature, and fashion, tackling our greatest questions and misconceptions.

With detailed timelines and charts, a “by the numbers” round-up, and tons of amusing trivia in each chapter, THE MENTAL FLOSS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES sets the historical record straight at last.  Filled with juicy tales of political intrigue, serial killers, the original Swine Flu, potato chips, Puritans, rum, and more, this entertaining and insightful history will answer all of your questions about everything made in the U.S.A.

Smarter than a history teacher, funnier than the Founding Fathers, and more American than Alaska, an almost (but not entirely) comprehensive primer on American history (or at least, the good stuff).

Click here to read an excerpt.

About the authors (from the publisher):

 Erik Sass is a journalist based in Los Angeles with branch offices around the country.  When not writing for mental_floss, he reports on the media and advertising business for MediaPost.com.  He lives in Santa Monica with his roommate, an ill-tempered 500-pound adult male Bengal tiger named Big Al.

Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur met as freshmen at Duke University, where they parlayed their cafeteria conversations into the first issue of mental_floss magazine.  Ten years later, they’ve created a knowledge empire.  In addition to the magazine, the pair has produced two board games, a t-shirt line, and a Web site (mentalfloss.com) that attracts millions of visitors every month.
Will and Mangesh have also collaborated on over 10 books together, including Condensed Knowledge, Forbidden Knowledge, History of the World, and Lolita, written under the pen name Vladimir Nabokov.

Thanks to Harper Collins, I have two (2) copies to giveaway. Here's the hows and wherefores:

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. No P.O. Boxes.

• PLEASE NOTE: One win per household. If you win this title in another contest hosted at another blog, the publisher will only send one copy per household address.

Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, October 14, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Shawn at WiredSet
and Harper Collins
for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

39 comments:

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I love these kinds of books for reading at the table! (even though one shouldn't, I hate eating without reading!) Please enter me!

nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I subscribe via Google RSS

nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

traveler said...

Thanks for featuring this interesting and unique book which would be great reading. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

bermudaonion said...

I'd love to be entered! milou2ster(at)gmail.com

bermudaonion said...

I subscribe in Google Reader. milou2ster(at)gmail.com

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

This would be such an interesting book to read and I would like to win it.

cenya2 at hotmail dot com

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

I follow by google reader.


cenya2 at hotmail dot com

PoCoKat said...

I would love to learn more about US history.

littleone AT shaw DOT ca

Becca said...

I’d love to win this. I have to admit that I am woefully deficient when it comes to knowledge of American history. And a book that can make learning it a hilarious romp is worth looking into. Besides it promises to talk about rum. And who wouldn’t want to read about that?

Thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net

Becca said...

I'm a follower on GFC.

thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net

Becca said...

Tweet!

http://twitter.com/Beckster000/status/26672185292

thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net

Lori L said...

While I enjoy history I like it even better when there are fun, unique facts and stories included. This looks like it fits that description!
shetreadssoftly(at)gmail(dot)com

Lori L said...

I am a follower!
shetreadssoftly(at)gmail(dot)com

debbie said...

This would be a perfect book for my son. He is obsessed with history, and would really enjoy it.
twoofakind12 (at) yahoo (dot) com

John said...

Please count me in!
jdrombo AT yahoo DOT com

Natalia said...

I would like to win one. Thanks.
natatheangel at yahoo dot com

Sandra K321 said...

My sons love these type of random weird knowledge books. I would love to win this for them.
seknobloch(at)gmail(dot)com

Sandra K321 said...

I follow your blog via google friend connect.
seknobloch(at)gmail(dot)com

Diana D said...

This sounds like a real interesting book. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway.

dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

Diana D said...

I am an email subscriber. Thanks

dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

Diana D said...

GFC follower. Thanks again.


dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

Jennifer L. said...

This looks like a fun read...I love learning things I didn't know before.
jentam777 AT gmail dOT com

Jennifer L. said...

I subscribe by email.
jentam777 At gmail dot com

Zibilee said...

I love Mental Floss and would love to read this one, so please enter me in your awesome giveaway!!

zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

Zibilee said...

I follow via google reader as well.

zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

librarypat said...

I am a Follower.

librarypat AT comcast DOT net

librarypat said...

I am a Subscriber.

librarypat AT comcast DOT net

librarypat said...

After watching Ja Leno's Jaywalking on the Tonight Show, I am more than a bit upset with the general lack of knowledge in the US population. When someone who is a history teacher can't answer a basic history question, it is no wonder our kids are coming out dumber than those who came out of school 40 or 50 years ago.
The snarky, humorous approach they take at mental_floss will at least make people sit up and pay attention. If they pay attention, they may actually learn something. I'd like this book.

librarypat AT comcast DOT net

Benita said...

Sounds like a terrific book. I'd love to win.

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Becca said...

I blogged here:

http://completepoppycock.blogspot.com/2010/10/learn-some-history.html

thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net

Dawn M. said...

Heh. Now this sounds like a fun way to learn history. Wish it'd been this interesting back when I was in school. I might have learned more. ;0)

Thanks!
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Dawn M. said...

I subscribe by email. (midnightblue)

librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Dawn M. said...

Tweeted:
http://twitter.com/#!/librarygrinch/status/26819478350

librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Judy H said...

This looks fascinating and educational. Please enter me in the contest.

headlessfowl at gmail dot com

Judy H said...

I'm am an old GFC follower.

headlessfowl at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a very entertaining book.

rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com

Reading said...

Please count me in. I think it would be interesting to learn facts about our country.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Reading said...

I follow on GFC

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

carla said...

I think this sounds like a really cool book! I already was reading your review to my husband.

cjay (at) iavalley (dot) edu

Thanks for the chance!