An Epic History of Failure - A blundering book full of fun facts and mindless mishaps

No one takes pride in it, but it is funny to see others fail. Take an educational and entertaining tour through history with An Epic History of Failure by Natalie Younger, visiting some of humankind's silliest decisions and the lessons we've learned (or not) from them.

From the sinking of the HMS Titanic, to the many, MANY missteps of Christopher Columbus, to the wonky construction of the Tower of Pisa, young readers will discover some of the epic fails that have changed our world or simply left us wondering "what were they thinking?!".

Everybody gets things wrong sometimes and this book demonstrates how we can often learn something from failure - or as Thomas Edison put it: "I've not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Each tale is accompanied by wacky illustrations from Ella Kasperowicz, ideal for engaging reluctant readers.

This is the third title in Neon Squid's Wacky Histories series, following A Stinky History of Toilets and A Sick History of Medicine, and is perfect for curious kids with a fondness for the darker side of history.

About the author

Natalie Younger is the cohost of Shared History, a history and comedy podcast about the overlooked and underrepresented people and events from ancient to modern history. She is a writer, comedian, podcaster, and actor based in Chicago, Illinois. An Epic History of Failure is her first book.Ella Kasperowicz, AKA Ellastrated, is a UK-based illustrator. She creates playful, relatable and modern information illustrations inspired by travel, mental health, and friendship.

Product details

• Authors: Neon Squid, Natalie Younger
• Assisted by: Ella Kasperowicz (Illustration)
• Publisher: Pan macmillan Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 5 to 8
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 19.02.2026
• EAN: 9781916745124
• ISBN: 978-1-916745-12-4
• No. of pages: 48
• Series: Wacky Histories
• Subjects: Children's and young people's books; Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; JUVENILE NONFICTION / Science & Nature / History of Science, JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / General, JUVENILE NONFICTION / Social Science / General, General & world history, History: earliest times to present day, Interest age: from c 8 years