Contemporary high school history teachers might just want to prescribe The Dead Guy Interviews to hook their more reluctant students. Sardonic wit and irreverent quips characterize the tone of Michael Stusser’s historical treatise in which he “conducts interviews” marwith deceased historical figures. In addition to the basic dates, significant accomplishments, downfalls, etc., Stusser provides salacious peeks into the personal lives of the humor-invigorated, rigomortized celebrities.

Laid out in alpha order, Stusser covers Alexander the Great through Mao Zedong, from pharaohs to presidents, philosophers to plain ol’ pop culture figures. He moves through 45 historical notables with whom even 21^st century adolescents would be acquainted, and if they weren’t, the introductions to each larger-than-life figure would surely spark further interest…in at least most of the characters.

The bottom line of The Dead Guy Interviews is that it is the most entertaining historical text I have ever read, with most of the three-to-five-page interviews striking chords of interest in learning more about the characters. In most historical texts or biographies of Albert Einstein, there is surely something included in the text that explains how Einstein struggled in school. However, few would put it the way Stusser does in his interview:

Stusser: Some people say you may have actually had a learning disability.

Einstein: Yah, I haff a disability to learn vat zey vant to teach me. My problem vas zat I clashed at times with my professors – unt vas usually correct in my argument, I might add. Zen I began to skip classes to study vat I vanted. School vas a bit of, how you say, bust.

Charles Darwin would probably turn over in his grave if he read Stusser’s paraphrasing of his ideas. In response to a question about switching majors in school, Stusser has Darwin reply, “Aw, the anatomy lectures sucked canal water, mate, and the surgery at the time was complete butchery. Blood and gore and a hacksaw. I couldn’t stand it. Made my stomach turn.” Uh, did I mention Stusser was irreverent?

Some might find The Dead Guy Interviews just a bit over the edge in some instances. For example, in his chat with Catherine the Great, known for her prolific sexual exploits according to Stusser, he asks, “Gotta ask: You? The horse? Yay or nay?” Catherine denies the implied allegation and asks Stusser if he has pets. When Stusser replies that he has a cat, Catherine asks, assuredly with a twinkle in eye, “Do you sleep with her?” Stusser replies, “Well sure. I mean, not that way.”

So the fresh, informative, and often funny, 291-page text of “history by character” goes. The Dead Guy Interviews is definitely worth the read regardless of your age…unless irreverence rubs you the wrong way.

Technorati Tags: Book Review, The Dead Guy Interviews, Michael Stusser, Alexander the Great, Catherine the Great, Albert Einstein

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