A good Christmas stocking gift for the historically inclined, a history of the world in 100 limericks no less. It covers a good few million years from the birth of the planet (There once was a great ball of gas...) to the recent banking debacle (There once were a lot of big banks). Each limerick has its own page and below are notes on the historical background covered in the limericks. A pleasing read - ideal for the smallest room.
There Was an Old Geezer Called Caesar A History of the World in 100 Limericks Synopsis
There is a young fellow named Mick Who's adapted the old limerick To cover, with mirth The whole history of Earth And what made its characters tick. There Was An Old Geezer Called Caesar is 100 lively and humorous limericks that take us back to before the beginning of time itself and right up until yesterday evening when you were probably making your dinner.
A TV journalist and crossword compiler, Mick Twister loves brevity and wordplay. In May 2011 he discovered that it was just about possible to squeeze that most concise poetic form, the limerick, into the 140-character Twitter limit. He coined the word 'twitmerick' for the Twitter limerick and under the name 'Mick Twister' (an anagram of 'twitmericks') began writing daily news limericks. His 4,000-strong following includes politicians, humourists and journalists from around the world.
Artist David Shrigley cited the limericks in naming @Mickhodgkin as one of the top Twitter feeds for the Observer in May 2012, and Mick Twister's work has been featured in the Washington Post, New Statesman, Guardian, BBC World at One and Radio 702 Sydney. He's even had a reply from the Archbishop of Canterbury!