Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious....unfortunately
Review: This book contains some incredibly funny statements of the absurd. For example:
"In 1937 Lenin revolted Russia after the Germans sent him home on a spoiled train."
"Columbus came to America to install rule by dead white males over the native peoples."
"Austria-Hungary was weakened by the problem of ethical diversity."
"Deism was the belief that God made the world and then stepped on it."
...and 138 pages of more silliness (in the hardcover version anyway). All simply hilarious - and a terrible, terrible reminder that the generation which will be in charge of the world for the next 40 or so years is full of total morons. When viewed as such, the book is a horrifying look at our future, a future where politicians can't even find Paris on a map and can't tell you what George Washington did.
But that's too depressing. So just read it for fun; you'll love it! One of the funniest "compilation" humor books since "Anguished English" (which is not to be missed).
Rating:
Summary: Depressingly Funny
Review: I'm not sure if this says more about my students or more about me, but I have to say when one of my classes bombs a test, or completely misses the point of a research paper, or writes two sentences and passes it off as an expository essay, when I read this book I feel that at least I'm not alone in my frustration. In fact, my students compare reasonably well to the "scholars" whose work is included in Non Campus Mentis.This past semester, I was teaching my Grade 11 students about the French Revolution. They were having difficulty with the subject matter, I assumed because they had difficulty relating the material to the world in which we live today. After reading this book, perhaps their difficulty was the result of me providing the wrong information: - Another problem was that France was full of French people. Dickens made this point in The Tail of Two Sisters, which he required us to read. - The French Revolution was like a tractor. It gave people the understanding that you need to change in order to make tracks in the world. The Third Estate was locked out of its motel and had to du business on a tennis court. This led to the Tennis Court Oath. This act of small defiance was the fuse that led to the explosion that blew up the government. - Revolters demanded liberty, equality, and fraternities. Fraternity breeded pride in the nation and therefore thicker political boundaries. Victims of the terror were rolled to the gilotine in tumblers, an unpleasant thing for all involved. Many of these unfortunate people became known as Emma Grays. - Along came a man named Roisieu Thermidorean who saved the people. The revolution evolved through monarchial, republican, and tolarian phases until Napoleon performed a coo in 1799. Napoleon was ill with bladder problems and was very tense and unrestrained. As his power leaked away his body became a symbol. He was later troubled by Spanish gorillas who formed a sore in his side. I'm not sure that one could make up gems of knowledge as those I've included above if one tries.
Rating: 
Summary: History For and By Dummies
Review: This book is good for many laughs, and also makes you think a little about some deeper issues. Of course here the point is humor, as Henriksson compiles all types of errors, malapropisms, and class-clownisms from real students in college-level history classes. Some are downright hysterical, from over-reliance on spell checking software to poor uses of humor to outright ignorance by the students. But should Henriksson, a college professor, place all the blame for the poor performance of students, represented here, on their previous education? Perhaps his classes and those of his colleagues, from which the samples here were gleaned, are so confusing or uninteresting for students that they lead to the ridiculousness herein? In many of these snippets I see signs of students being unable to integrate the names and dates that they've been spoon-fed into a coherent whole, which can be considered a systemic educational problem which won't be helped by making fun of students for being so wrong. But in the end, congrats to Hendriksson and his publishers for being able to sell this thin pamphlet of a book for $12.95. Now that has educational value. [~doomsdayer520~]
Rating:
Summary: How did these students get into College in the first place?
Review: Although not an hilarious read this book does have some extremely funny entries from North American college students on American and world history. Learn that the allies landed near Italy's Toe and gradually advanced up her leg, Japan Bombed Pearl Harbour the main US base in California, the Germans subs sunk the Titanic and Aztec troops fought at Gallipoli. The Black Death was passed around by midgets, Joan of Ark was famous as Noah's wife and other stuff you won't find in textbooks. Some of these entries are obviously students trying to be funny when they have no idea of the answer to a question, some are from total reliance on their computer's spellcheck but others highlight the fact that maybe the academic requirements for college placements need to be increased with maybe a few less football scholarships in North America. The book isn't actually that big and only takes about half an hour to read is my only complaint. An interesting book, check it out.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Yet Kind of Sad
Review: As a social studies teacher, I thought I would find a great deal of enjoyment in this book. Many of the errors of college students I read in this book are similar to mistakes I have seen my students make. The unfortunate part about this book is that it is a little depressing to see how unmotivated some people are to learn. This does not make it bad to get a laugh at the expense these unmotivated adolescents. I can't help but be curious if some of President Bush's college papers made this book. The preview of the book gives some excellent hints at the funny parts of the book. Some are hilarious, but some are not so humorous. The sections about World War II and religion are particularly amusing. This book would make a great gift for the history buff or teacher in your life. I know my copy has become quite a conversation piece.
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