This book was funny and then it got annoying. Mr. Forsyth wrote as those he were joking around with friends over a couple of beers. There didn't seem to be a concern for providing actual facts or sometimes even the truth. At more than one point, a paragraph was followed with a sentence that said something like "and that was a lie" or "but that didn't happen." There were other things where he just rambled on: "......it's worthwhile pointing out a few oddities of Egyptian history. First, it went on for a very, very, very long time. Egypt was united in 3000 BC.......... As of about 1000 BC the country went into a bit of a decline that last for the next thousand years and a bit. This all adds up to a rather long time." Um, okay. It felt like this was supposed to be cute. It wasn't. At other points he was purposefully inaccurate. "Then the First World War broke out. As usual with world wars, the American were a bit tardy, but when, in 1917, they finally worked out that World means World they joined in." Hopefully most readers would already understand that at the time it wasn't called the First World War or World anything. But, with the education system the way it is, I wouldn't make that assumption. Obviously I wasn't amused by this book. If you really want to learn something about history as it relates to fluids, I suggest Tom Standage's [b:A History of the World in 6 Glasses|3872|A History of the World in 6 Glasses|Tom Standage|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415681601s/3872.jpg|7600]. It includes things other than alcohol but at least you can trust the information.

A copy of this book was provided by Penguin First to Read in exchange for an honest review.