Non Campus Mentis 
asked by maxmill on November 17, 2006 1:45 PM
Be prepared to weep as you read Non Campus Mentis: World History According to College Students, a horrifically hilarious compendium of actual North American college student essays. Learn about the victims of the Black Death (who "grew boobs on their necks"), the Automaton Empire, Martin Luther King's famous "If I Had a Hammer" speech, the Iran Hostess Crisis, Zorroastrologism (the "duelist" religion "founded by Zorro"), and Joan of Ark, Noah's wife, at rest on Mt. Arafat. Meet Dim El Sum of Korea, the Vestigal Virgins, "dedicated to burning the internal flame," and Hitler, who "shot himself in the bonker." Did you know a position as "lady-in-mating helped a young girl's chances for a marriage," and "the assignation of Archduke Ferdman gave sweet relief to mounting tensions," or that "the major cause of the Civil War is when slavery spread its ugly testicles across the West"?
Well, you'd better buckle down and learn, then! --Tim Appelo
Reviews
0%
0%
I recommend this book without hesitation.
Readers with a knowledge of history will
find fresh interpretations. Others will find
new inspiration for the study of history.
As Thomas Jefferson might well have said
(had he read this book), "I tremble for
my country when I reflect that God does not
grade on a curve."
Readers with a knowledge of history will
find fresh interpretations. Others will find
new inspiration for the study of history.
As Thomas Jefferson might well have said
(had he read this book), "I tremble for
my country when I reflect that God does not
grade on a curve."
reviewed by jazzman on November 28, 2006 12:48 AM
0%
0%
"Non Campus Mentis" purports to be - and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary may as well be - a collection of mistakes culled from papers written by history students. While some of these mistakes may appear slightly too impressive to be real, speaking as a student myself I can safely say that I've read (and on occasion come alarmingly close to writing) similar things, so I wouldn't bet against the contents being real.
Hendriksson opens, in his preface, with an attempt to put his collection in the same lineage as Sellar and Yeatman's classic "1066 And All That", but this seems rather a long bow to draw. Where Sellar and Yeatman created their "History of Britain" themselves, Hendriksson appears to have let his students do the dirty work.
In other words, "Non Campus Mentis" is related to "1066 And All That", but really should not be compared too deeply with it.
The mistakes in question range from the vaguely humorous ("Thucydides saw himself as responsible to the Greek mouse of History") through to the utterly ridiculous (one quotation features Otto von Bismarck working with Julius Caesar) and back again. Specialists in any given field will find much to enjoy, but anyone with a modicum of geographical knowledge will find the analysis of the Schlieffen Plan (attacking France through Belgium "which is near Paris") entertaining, for example.
As previously mentioned, I am a history student and every so often lend this book to like-minded friends and professors. As a result, lectures are frequently enlivened with laughter - although I tend not to get the book back too rapidly.
Indeed, one surprising advantage of this book is that a number of the errors have become something of a mnemonic for me - the idea that "everyone who fought in the First World War were cousins", for example, is something I often remind myself of in research on that conflict.
"Non Campus Mentis" is, in the final analysis, not a book to take too seriously. I prefer to deploy it judiciously after a long day of academic reading and writing to remind myself that not all of this wonderful discipline needs to be taken very seriously at all.
Hendriksson opens, in his preface, with an attempt to put his collection in the same lineage as Sellar and Yeatman's classic "1066 And All That", but this seems rather a long bow to draw. Where Sellar and Yeatman created their "History of Britain" themselves, Hendriksson appears to have let his students do the dirty work.
In other words, "Non Campus Mentis" is related to "1066 And All That", but really should not be compared too deeply with it.
The mistakes in question range from the vaguely humorous ("Thucydides saw himself as responsible to the Greek mouse of History") through to the utterly ridiculous (one quotation features Otto von Bismarck working with Julius Caesar) and back again. Specialists in any given field will find much to enjoy, but anyone with a modicum of geographical knowledge will find the analysis of the Schlieffen Plan (attacking France through Belgium "which is near Paris") entertaining, for example.
As previously mentioned, I am a history student and every so often lend this book to like-minded friends and professors. As a result, lectures are frequently enlivened with laughter - although I tend not to get the book back too rapidly.
Indeed, one surprising advantage of this book is that a number of the errors have become something of a mnemonic for me - the idea that "everyone who fought in the First World War were cousins", for example, is something I often remind myself of in research on that conflict.
"Non Campus Mentis" is, in the final analysis, not a book to take too seriously. I prefer to deploy it judiciously after a long day of academic reading and writing to remind myself that not all of this wonderful discipline needs to be taken very seriously at all.
reviewed by goonball on November 29, 2006 12:53 AM
0%
0%
I read about 100 books a year and I must say this is one of the most laugh-out-loud tears-in-the-eyes books I've read in a very long time. The ignorance shown by these college students is certainly sad, but their interpretation of history is absolutely a riot. My wife asked what was so funny and I couldn't even find the breath to tell her. She peered over my shoulder and joined me in the hilarity. Not to be read in locations where your guffaws would be inappropriate.
reviewed by jan1975 on November 29, 2006 2:29 PM
0%
0%
Don't read this with anything in your mouth. You might choke to death. It's that funny! This is great. As with anything read in moderation because since these are errors which could plant a virus in your mind and you might lose all your great intellect and become a quivering blob of laughing jello. But for something that's a blast and a sure fire cure for the grumps, this one is one of the B-E-S-T!
reviewed by porsche on November 29, 2006 3:02 PM
0%
0%
If your a history buff then this book is a must have. I laughed so hard I cried!!! If you've already read this and want another one like it, try "1066 And All That." It's a British version done on the pub interview level but just as funny. It's also hard to find since it's been out of print forever.
reviewed by samoan on November 29, 2006 3:23 PM