I read all of Richard Armour's "It All Started With..." books when I was in high school a zillion years ago. Luckily, I had a social studies teacher who had several copies he'd lend to students. Once read, never forgotten! Armour's humor motivates readers to read and learn. If you already know the facts he's satirizing, you'll giggle and guffaw. If you DON'T have the foggiest idea about the subject, you'll darn well WANT to learn about it so you can appreciate the humor. I had a few Armour books in my classroom library when I was a teacher, but sadly, the books have disappeared over the years. Now it's time to search for replacements online. Onward!

After being introduced to Dr. Armour by my freshman HS English teacher, I was blessed to hear him speak in person at a college guest lecture series in 1970. Dr. Armour's comment about the book (then newly published) was: "there's not a dirty word in it--but I certainly hope that it will be read by a large number of dirty-minded people!" A satirical look at sex and gender issues with warmth and humor as only Armour can. An example from Roman times: "Roman men being as they were, it was no easy thing for the Vestal virgins to remain virgins. One thing that helped was keeping busy tending the perpetual fire on the altar of Vesta. Another was staying away from men. Still another was knowing that if they lost heir chastity, they would be buried alive." The classic drawings of Campbell Grant also add enjoyment.

I read it a long time ago in India and loved Eve-ry bit of it. This is really a combination of Carry on Cleo, Eve-olution of woman in the best possible comic parlance and just wonderful, easy reading that captures your imagination and is too witty. Thank you Mr Armour for your Rich humour.

I first read Richard Armour when I was about 12, and I have to say that even the bits I didn't understand were funny enough to make me want to! As a result I began reading many classics just so I could get the joke. I would love to see these books reprinted.

This is a wonderful volume of literary humor that really should be back in print. Going through famous fictional works (including yet another Shakespeare), Armour goes through the work of fiction and, taking things to an illogical extreme, presents a very funny take on these classics. This book is hilarious, particularly, of course, if you've read the original work in question.

the author has selected certain famous classics.He writes a short biography about each author and thereafter reclassifies the classics.It is a very humourous book

armour gives the funniest description of at past 2000 years of European history. This book contains never-heard-before satires and burlesques that remarkebly outlines history. Drawings are appropriate and unquestionably humorous. I wish I could purchase this book from amazon if they had it!!

Richard Armour's simple, entertaining book (with memorable illusrations by Leonard Everett Fisher) is a great introduction to American political history -- fun for the newcomer and the expert alike. Even many years later, whenever the name of an obscure President is mentioned, one of Mr. Armour's quotes is likely to pop to mind (such as, regarding Franklin Pierce, "the most that most remember, is that he was handsome," or of Eisenhower, "let Ike but grin that boyish grin, and those at outs with him were in," and dozens more). I've always wanted to thank Armour and Fisher for such a delightful book, and it's great this review gives me a chance to do so. Thanks guys!

I'm big into poetry and Richard Armour books. My dad found this book and brought it home and I read it cover to cover at one sitting. Boy was it funny. And now I can't hear the line "Water water everywhere" without thinking of Armour's second line - "the plumbing badly needs repair"!

I first read this book when 18 years old, in high school library. 10 years later, I still was so entranced by it I wrote a poem to Dr. Armour -- but alas, didn't send it. Now, nearly age 50, I had recently tracked down a used copy (I think it's out of print). Yep, it's just as good as I remember. So, I guess I've been laughing happily over Armour for what -- 30 years, now!

Good humor is hard to find nowadays. Get everything this guy writes, if you can find it: Twisted Tales from Shakespeare, It all started with Eve..good clean intelligent MEMORABLE humor.

Although not as good as his "Twisted Tales from Shakespeare" and "The Classics Reclassified," this volume is still a funny overview of American History.

This book is, quite simply, a masterpiece of American humor. However, the same can be said of most of Richard Armour's books, including such classics as "It All Started With Marx," "English Lit Relit," "Twisted Tales From Shakespeare" (with its classic description of Hamlet entering 'with his nose in a book, perhaps to keep his place'), and of course "The Classics Reclassified." This is the cream of the crop, which is saying a lot given the quality of the crop. Starting with Christopher Columbus and working his way into the twentieth century, Armour has combined great scholarship with a wild sense of humor (Explorers returned with "Chinaware from China, Indiaware from India, and Underware from Down Under") to make an indelible mark on the study of history. And it will contribute to the reader's knowledge, because you will grasp obscure facts better by virtue of Armour's jokes. This has been one of my favorite books for many years, and it is WELL WORTH finding in a library or a book-finding service; the history buff will want to re-read it frequently for a good laugh!

If you are a History fan, you MUST read this, and any of the other books by Richard Armour. You will DEFINITELY look at America in a Whole NEW light...even if this book IS out of print! Maybe we can start a movement to have his stuff brought back! It is a CLASSIC in the True sense of the word. I especially love the description about Davy Crockett.. "He wore a Coonskin Cap and Bucksin Coat -but it never says wether or not he wore pants..."

This is the Bicentennial edition of a book that was first published in 1953 as It All Started With Columbus. In fifty five hilarious chapters, Armour has written a very funny parody of an American History textbook complete with Test Questions, Mid-Term Projects, and a Glossary of Terms. It covers the period from Christopher Columbus to Gerald Ford. Too bad he stopped updating the book and missed the opportunity to chronicle the comic adventures of Reagan, Clinton, and the Bushes. Fortunately, our generation has Larry Gonick's Cartoon Histories which are the closest modern writings that compare to this book. Armour's style is based upon puns at which he is a master. Like Gonick, he is a Ph.D. scholar. While Gonick was a scientist, Armour got his Ph. D. from Harvard and is an historian. His approach is humorous but is well grounded. Take a look at this satiric commentary on the classic American textbook and enjoy a good laugh.