Some jobs have gone extinct over the years. Princes don't need a whipping boy to take their punishments. Modern sewers have done away with massive rat populations and rat catchers. Grand estates don't find it fashionable anymore to hire an ornamental hermit to live in a cave grotto. Since the invention of the refrigerator, we don't need ice harvesters to bring ice into the city. Most people do their own crying at funerals, instead of hiring wailing women to cry. Thanks to modern plumbing, we don't need to hire anyone to shovel waste out of our toilets. Now that most people can read newspapers, we don't need balladeers or town criers to shout out the daily news.

I found it fascinating to read about all the weird professions that have existed throughout history! I liked the funny illustrations, but some of the designs are kind of weird. Some people's eyeballs look like they are going in different directions or about to pop out of their head. They have weird expressions on their faces that don't really match the task they are doing.

Some of these jobs haven't exactly gone extinct though, they have just developed into a new version of the same basic job. There are still butlers and housekeepers and cooks in grand houses or hotels. There are still sponge divers, paperboys, hatters/milliners, and tower watchmen who look out for fires. There are still explorers, pyrotechnicians, and elevator operators. Some of those professions have changed, and some are just more rare than they used to be. Still, it was neat to see how the job used to be done or used to be more popular.

I did not like the section about "itinerant preachers". The text hinted that they were crazy or foolish for believing in God, and that people who were "insecure" were fooled by their preaching. They could have given the historical facts without the anti-Christian bias.

There is also a timeline section that says that "Six million years ago, the first human species developed in Africa." They do not explain that that idea is a theory. It is not proven fact. They present it as if it were a fact. This makes me wonder what else in the book they are presenting as fact when it's actually just a theory or hearsay. They could have just made it clear what part of the book is fact and what part is theory. I wish that the text were more reliable.

There is also a section about executioners, which says "It has been proven that it [the death penalty] does not deter criminals, so the same amount of crime will happen whether this cruel punishment exists or not." I would be very interested to see their sources on that. I've never heard of a study like that proving that the death penalty makes no difference to crime rates.

Unfortunately, there are NO sources whatsoever offered in this book. No proof of anything. So it's a fun book, but I would not trust it for your history textbook.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.