Smarter than your old history teacher, funnier than the founding fathers, and more American than apple pie, The Mental Floss History of the United States is an almost (but not entirely) comprehensive primer on American history (or at least, the good stuff). From the editors of MentalFloss.com and mental_floss magazine—with its tagline: “Feel smart again”—comes an American History text packed with hilarious (but true!) trivia written in the smart-aleck tradition of The Mental Floss History of the World, Mental Floss Presents In the Beginning, and the first mental_floss book, Condensed Knowledge. Perfect for trivia buffs, history lovers, college students, and anyone who likes to laugh and learn. United States history has never been so fun.

Smarter than your old history teacher, funnier than the Founding Fathers and more American than Betty Crocker cradling an apple pie

Do you still think of Honest Abe as a heroic defender of liberty? That the late ’60s were a groovy time of peace and love? That the United States has always been dependent on foreign oil? Well, you shouldn’t! In this delightful tour through America’s knotty past, mental_floss offers something new: a refreshingly honest history that’s guaranteed to set things straight.

Peppered with trivia, charts, timelines, and, yes, plenty of history, The mental_floss History of the United States includes the juiciest tales of political intrigue, serial killers, mobsters, Puritans, rum, witches, potato chips, and more. Here at last is the true American Dream: an insightful, accurate, and wholly entertaining history that’s 100 percent made in the U. S. of A.

"[B]reezy, bullet-pointed and well illustrated."