"1966 and all that"

"1966 and all that" by Craig Brown. It is a satire of the famous historical satire "1066 and all that" by Sellar and Yeatman. Yummy, a satire of a satire! It is a trawl through twentieth century history, finely observed with frequent and outlandish puns that had us in stiches. It is hardly politically correct but it is hilarious, especially if you know the original. Here are some snippets:

"Mahatma Grandhi walked around India in his loincloth and Nehru jacket stirring up inaction. He advocated a new form of passive resistance, to be known as pacifistfight...Grandhi later put on ten stone to play the title role in 'Dikhi', the award-winning film based on the life of Lord Attenborough"

"For a year the Nazi War Machine bombarded London with 'Teach Yourself German'' pamphlets. This period came to be known as the Berlitz"

" Under New Labour, a new pop group came along, called Oasis. It consisted of the two elderly Gargler brothers, Loin and Mole. The names became synonymous with Cruel Britannia. It was easy to tell which was which. Loin was the brother who drank too much and was abusive whereas Mole was the brother who was abusive and drank too much. They swore, didn't shave, wore old clothes and burped. They were hailed as a breath of fresh air. They were proud to have written all their top ten hits themselves. These included 'Hey Jude', 'Yellow Submarine', ' Hello Goodbye', and also 'The Ballard of John and Yoko', which Loin said was about him and his girlfriend, Pasty Kissit"

Brilliant!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/1966-All-That-Craig-Brown/dp/0340897112