The Slackers Guide to U.S. History

Book excerpt: What does Miley Cyrus have in common with Sacagawea? How could Steve Jobs have helped Eisenhower? What does the moon landing have to do with the Hilton sisters? In less time than it takes to recite the preamble to the Constitution, most Americans can spout off all their U.S. history knowledge. (Hint: it starts with “In 1492” and ends with “sailed the ocean blue.”) That’s because most history books are as interesting as the phone book—and have the same number of pages. The average Joe (the guy who TiVo’d John Adams on HBO but won’t make Colonial Williamsburg his next vacation spot) needs a witty and edgy history book—and he has it, with with this guide. Hysterical authors—and self-described slackers—Don Stewart and John Pfeifer give readers the bare minimum on important events such as: The Civil War (the war that pitted brother vs. brother—about the bruthas) The expedition of Lewis and Clark (the ultimate road trip) The Boston Tea Party (not much of a party unless that tea was from Long Island) The assassination of JFK (one vacation that ended particularly badly) Combining current pop culture references and accessible historical information, this satirical book catches readers up on what they slept through in History 101.