The mammoth book of losers 9781780338309, 9781780338316, 1780338309, 1780338317
This compendious celebration of ineptitude includes some of history's most spectacularly ill-conceived expeditions
372 38 504KB
English Pages 490 Year 2014
Table of contents :
Cover
Title
Copyright
Contents
Introduction
1 How the West Was Lost: Misadventures in Exploration
Worst Attempt to Make a Name as a Great Explorer
Shortest Space Programme
Least Successful Bonding Exercise
Least Successful Hunting Party
Least Successful Attempt to Cross Australia
Least Successful Expedition by Camel
Most People Lost While Searching for a Lost Expedition
Least Successful Transatlantic Crossing by Aeroplane
Worst Attempt to Found a Colonial Empire
Least Successful Arctic Rescue Mission
Fool's Gold
Least Observant Explorer. Most Inaccurate Discovery of a Mountain RangeMost Inaccurate Discovery of a Mountain Range: Runner-Up
Least Successful Balloon Trip
Least Successful Surveyor
Most Futile Attempt to Find a Lost Tribe
Least Convincing Denial over Eating One's Crew
Worst Survival Skills
Most Predictable Outcome of Plucky British Amateurism
Most People Lost While Looking for a Lost City
Cosmic Martyrs
Worst Attempt to Climb Mount Everest
2 Standing on the Shoulders of Midgets: Scientific Losers
Least Accurate Scientific Textbook
Least Accurate Attempt to Date the Earth
"Hard Luck" Scheele. Most Accident-Prone AstronomerLeast Successful Horoscope
Least Comprehensible Scientific Paper
The Wrong Chemistry
Most Failed Attempts to be Named in a Scientific Textbook
Least Convincing Attempt to Prove God's Work in All Its Glory
Most Pointless Lines of Research by Someone Who Should Have Known Better
Second-Most Pointless Lines of Research by People Who Should Have Known Better
The Man Who Discovered the N-Ray
Least Successful Weatherman
The Nearly Man of Computing
The Evolutionist Who Wasn't Darwin
Worst Science Pundit
Most Convincing Surrender to Newton's Law of Gravity. The Forgotten Man of ForensicsMost Successful Attempt to Destroy a Reputation as a Great Scientist
Most Prolific Inventor of Things that Should Never Have Got Off the Drawing Board
3 Who Dares Loses: Business Blunders, Bankrupts and Brand Disasters
Most Flawed Get-Rich-Quick Scheme
Worst Follow-Up to a Great Idea
Best Get-Poor-Quick Scheme
Most Expensive Failure to Spot a Lemon
Least Successful Celebrity Endorsement
Least Successful Celebrity Endorsement: Runner-Up
Least Credible Economic Growth Plan
Biggest Business Boob
Least Credible Self-Improvement Guide. Worst Business Brain Behind a Global Brand NameWorst Business Brain Behind a Global Brand Name: Runner-Up
Least Successful Trade Minister
The Real Thing
Quickest Route to Financial Suicide
Least Consumer-Friendly Product
Least Successful Branding: the Main Contenders
You're Never Alone in a Cancer Ward
Least Convincing Tourist Campaigns
Most Expensive Typo
Most Failed Attempts to Turn a Great Idea into a Profitable Business
4 Defeat from the Jaws of Victory: Great Military Losers
Most Underachieving Invasion Force
The (War) Elephant in the Room.
