How Come They Always had the Battles in the National Parks?

By: Peter Bales

Narrated by: Peter Bales

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

This is not your father's history book! Spanning prehistoric times all the way through the Civil War, How Come They Always had the Battles in the National Parks? presents a humorous look at our country's past, a historically accurate, concise, and easy to follow account of the main events in America's saga up through the Civil War, definitely enough to get you by in case you find yourself surrounded by annoying smart people at a party.

Ideal for young people who want to learn and older folks who like to remember, this audiobook offers a perfect blend of information and humor, proving conclusively that the subject of History can be both interesting and fun.

©2006 Peter Bales (P)2006 Peter Bales

Cute title, but...

This is a catchy title, but the book is a disappointment. It was written for those who don't know any history, and have little attention span.
The coverage is minimal, and the bias is definitely way to the left. I don't mind if the historians have a viewpoint, but I don't want it rammed down my throat.
Nonetheless, there is at least coverage of American history. I learned one or two bits I didn't know. If you love history, don't waste your credit on a book which will talk down to you.

Glad I didn't have him for a history professor

What disappointed you about How Come They Always had the Battles in the National Parks??

The best thing about this book is the title and the explanation of how the title came to be - a story to make any history-lover cringe, to be sure.

In the preface, the author/narrator promises humor. If you interpret "humor" to mean cheap, sexual innuendos and comments, he scores in a big way. At first, these were tiresome, but they became endless.

One characteristic of any history teacher should be lack of bias; this author has lots of bias, and the history he teaches is strictly through this lens. Not stopping there, he stoops to name-calling contemporaries with whom he disagrees and uses "history" as a platform to push his political views. I mean honestly, what does campaigning for a national gun registry have to do with his pre-civil war Am. history?

To be fair, there is a large amount of good historical information, and the author was lively in his presentation. But that information was unfortunately wrapped in a blanket of smut and another of bias. I prefer my history more historical.

Would you ever listen to anything by Peter Bales again?

no

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from How Come They Always had the Battles in the National Parks??

read above