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Mostly Rapscallions Salient Sillies About the Rich and Infamous in History PJ Sullivan 9780741461674 Books

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Mostly Rapscallions Salient Sillies About the Rich and Infamous in History PJ Sullivan 9780741461674 Books

I too was inspired to read more history after picking up Will Cuppy's "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody." Since Mr. Sullivan's book is a duplicate in style and manner of the famous Will Cuppy a comparison seems inevitable. And I must say that Mr. Sullivan did a bang up job of bringing the old master back to life. It was like old times reading "Mostly Rapscallions" with all the silly footnotes, cynical attitudes, and accurate, though scathing, history. I was tempted to do the same with my Willy Cuppy inspired work "Noble Notes on Famous Folks" but I didn't have the nerve. Unfortunately the material for writing cynical books about Famous Folks is endless. There seems to be many more Rapscallions than there are true heroes - and even the "real heroes" are human and filled with "flaws." But as many of the other reviewers have pointed out, books of this type are a wonderful way to learn and develop insight into history. Will Cuppy got to me and Mr. Sullivan and I would hope that Mr. Sullivan will inspire another generation of history buffs with a critical eye and a sense of humor with this great resurrection.

Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of:

"Noble Notes on Famous Folks"


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Mostly Rapscallions Salient Sillies About the Rich and Infamous in History PJ Sullivan 9780741461674 Books Reviews

Described by their author as "unauthorized uncut uncensored uncouth", these potted pen pictures of (in)famous people from the past may be unofficial, but are, nevertheless, well researched and largely verifiable biographical accounts of some of the most interesting characters that have ever walked this Earth, including "religious wackos" (such as Oliver Cromwell and Anthony Comstock), "Imperialist Warmongers" (such as Hernan Cortes and Napoleon Bonaparte), and "Popular Hate Figures" (such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini). From the sampling of names, you can already see that the figures are of international (ill) repute--and no wonder, as one can see from checking out P.J. Sullivan's credentials. After studying history "in the field" (the form of field is anyone's guess, but, from all accounts, appears to have been rather muddy and trodden down by sundry bovine and porcine species) in over a dozen countries, and after five years of "total immersion" (which once more begs the question "In what?"--certainly anything but holy water m'thinks, as his portrayal of the religious is far from being sanctimonious and above the surplice), Sullivan returned to his country of birth, where he now resides in Humboldt County, California. No doubt his current residence also has much to do with his openness of expression and his scandalous disregard for the proprieties that should, lawfully or by divine right (in some cases both), be accorded the esteemed dignities that he describes (lol).

Mostly Rapscallions is a romp through history with a focus on the bizarre and challenging (sometimes challenged) personalities who, largely of their own volition, chose to stand out above the rest of us more ordinary and prosaic folk, mainly to their own detriment, albeit they must have wished it rather differently. Sullivan is a master of the art of showing the not so salubrious sides of those who tried their utmost to show the rest of the world how truly extraordinary and exceptional they were. Too bad that so many of them landed up in an untimely end . . .

Strictly not for use as a school or college history primer, Mostly Rapscallions is fun to read and a delight to behold, including, as it does, numerous illustrations of the redoubtable personages that people these pages. As with all satire, there is a deeper intent than the mere entertainment of the reader, though, which is summed up by Sullivan's pertinent question in his Introduction to this quaint gem of a book "What better way to deal with tyrants and bullies than by laughing them out of town?" [Reviewer for BookPleasures.com]
Mr. Sullivan promises that he has "carefully hidden one laugh in each chapter," but I found an average of approximately 4.32 on each page. Mostly Rapscallions is educational, too. It's one thing to read history in order to find out who did what, but this book goes further It changes personages into persons. One really gets to know and understand the persons, because we all have bits of the same faults that are so humorously described.
Mr. Sullivan has spent a great deal of time looking into the historical aspects of people who made the pages of those publications of their own time on this planet. Sadly, many of them were not upstanding citizens, and he has made the most of those. This is a wonderful book for those who do not believe everything in their school history books, and who wonder who and how "rapscallions" found their way into them. Mr. Sullivan is an ace researcher. I enjoyed his writing style. Worth the time to read his work, so do read it, and learn a lot.
P.M.Trei
This book is a keeper. Few people know the truth behind these Rapscallions. I don't want to spoil anyone's reading by letting too much out.

The book is very well written. I wonder if P J Sullivan writes some of the material for well known comedians. It is that hilarious. The style of the writting in and of itself very good.

But what is really makes it worth reading is the facts are well footnoted.

The most jaded history buffs will like it; as well as bright High School and College students who may think that history has to be stuffy and boring. No one will think real history is tedious after reading this book.

What these men and women did went into the permanent record..
I never knew history was this funny! P.J. Sullivan's collection of profiles of historical figures pokes fun at the rich and mighty with a vengeance. Like a gossip columnist with a time machine, Sullivan levels the weapon of laughter against the revered and influential figures of their times. If you enjoyed the Saturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin, or Gary Trudeau's skewerings of George W. Bush, you'll love "Mostly Rapscallions"!
I too was inspired to read more history after picking up Will Cuppy's "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody." Since Mr. Sullivan's book is a duplicate in style and manner of the famous Will Cuppy a comparison seems inevitable. And I must say that Mr. Sullivan did a bang up job of bringing the old master back to life. It was like old times reading "Mostly Rapscallions" with all the silly footnotes, cynical attitudes, and accurate, though scathing, history. I was tempted to do the same with my Willy Cuppy inspired work "Noble Notes on Famous Folks" but I didn't have the nerve. Unfortunately the material for writing cynical books about Famous Folks is endless. There seems to be many more Rapscallions than there are true heroes - and even the "real heroes" are human and filled with "flaws." But as many of the other reviewers have pointed out, books of this type are a wonderful way to learn and develop insight into history. Will Cuppy got to me and Mr. Sullivan and I would hope that Mr. Sullivan will inspire another generation of history buffs with a critical eye and a sense of humor with this great resurrection.

Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of

"Noble Notes on Famous Folks"