Badass: A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live

By Ben Thompson

The badasses populating the pages of Badass are the most savagely awesome historical figures to ever strap on a pair of chain mail gauntlets and run screaming into battle. Author Ben Thompson—considered by many to be the Internet’s foremost expert on badassitude—has gathered together a rogues’ gallery of butt-stomping rogues, from Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan to Blackbeard, George S. Patton, and Bruce Lee. Their bone-breaking exploits are illustrated by top artist from the fields of gaming, comics, and cards—DC Comics illustrator Matt Haley and Thomas Denmark, illustrator for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. This is not your boring high school history—this is tough, manly, unrelentingly Badass!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 27, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061959172

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson's comedy career began in the winter of 1986-7, reading a photocopied Ronnie Corbett monologue to an audience of angry students. He never performed again, but later took the opportunity to parade his ignorance of the basic principles of stagecraft in front of a national audience as comedy critic of The Independent On Sunday from 1994-97. He has also written profiles of Britain's best known comedians for The Face, GQ, The Independent, Night & Day and The Saturday Telegraph.

Reviews for Badass

[skybalon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting set of choices. In some ways it seems written to attract 14-year-old boys, but then the author makes an extended reference to M.C. Hammer--something that most 14-year-old boys wouldn't get. So it seems to be written to older boys who like to think like 14-year-olds.

Ultimately it ends up having some more depth than expected, but then suddenly shallows it out with way too many pseudo-sexual references.

Fun but not all that worthwhile.

[Daniel Hall · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good badass book. I could image all the badasses as if they were to talk like that like they did in the book.

[Mark Kozak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wish I would have thought of this concept first. Perfect fare if you're in the mood for bite-sized chunks and rip-roaring yarns. Some "awesome" one liners in here, and the history isn't that bad either (as long as one can separate the comic hyperbole from fact). I've added the rest of Thompson's work to my library and look forward to perusing more badasses.

[teknokat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had this in my Skeleton Closet for a while, but in a moment of weakness (excessive need for people to not know about my dark side), I deleted my review. But you look like a person who can handle Badass. *pulls out barstool*...

Just to be sure, here's a quiz to find out if this book is right for you:

1) Do you own a catapult? (Doesn't have to be big enough to knock down a castle wall...I own a miniature working model, and IMO, that counts.)

2) Do you enjoy attending Renaissance Faires or SCA events? (No credit if you don't come in costume.)

3) Do you believe that Batman, Ironman, or any other 'comic strip' character would make a worthy friend?

4) Do you wish to read a snarkified history about the most badass people who ever lived?

Scoring: If you actually want to see your score, you probably need a couple more drinks before you are ready for this book.

[miaculpa-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I ran across Thompson's Badass blog some time ago so it was a natural that I chased this book down asap. Like some other reviewers have noted, Thompson's writing style is an acquired state and readers could tire of his bombastic style rather quickly, which is why I never passed "Badass" along to my 73 year-old father to read.I did enjoy reading this though, with some of the badasses new to me, particularly the women (the world needs more female badass role models). I was surprised by the absence of Nancy Wake, the famous "White Mouse" of the WWII French Resistance, who once killed a German soldier with her bare hands, but perhaps that can make any upcoming sequel.

[andeben · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved this book! The language is foul and at many times exaggerated, but this made it even more entertaining. "Badass," d describes some of the most bad assed, awe inspiring warriors that have graced the earth with humor. I would recommend it to any one who likes history, action movies, or witty humor.

[cwflatt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

these are true stories of real human beings doing super hero type actions.

[leahdawn_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very easy, entertaining read that uses simple, and hilariously foul language to describe the most badass warriors that ever graced the pages of history.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is exactly what it sounds like: short biographies of various ass-kicking historical figures. It's written in an over-the-top testosterone-soaked-teenage-boy style that, for my tastes, as often as not overshoots the humorous target it's aiming at and instead hits somewhere in the vicinity of "annoying." "Badass" is actually one of the least slangy and vulgar descriptive words in the book, and while I don't have a problem with slangy and vulgar, there are some limits to its entertainment value, and I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed this more if it were toned down a notch. Maybe a notch and a half. But it did give me a few laughs, and the people and events described here are genuinely interesting. If you happen to know a testosterone-soaked teenage boy and would like to sneakily induce him to learn a little history, I think giving him a copy of this may be an ideal way to do it.

[homechicken · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was hilarious. It's like history was written by a 14-year-old boy with ADHD and an unhealthy preoccupation with nut-punching. If you like your history with a heaping helping of butt kicking this is the book for you.

[usagijihen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book makes learning about history fun again.I mean, we've all been through it - the dry grade school lectures (unless you were able to find a teacher cool enough to make things interesting) droning on about world history to the point where even the class clowns were getting sleepy.But this book really lives up to its title. I seriously have to give props to the author, who not only knows his stuff, but has recrafted history in a way that will not only interest younger generations in historical studies but could possibly get them to read more in general. Which, quite frankly, is needed.Thank you for writing this book!(crossposted to goodreads.)

[saltypepper_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is not a book to be read in one sitting, nor is it great literature. It's more of a comic book-y, -xploitation type book. Think 1970's kung fu movies or the work of Quentin Tarentino, and you're on the right track. If you wanted great art or a serious discussion of various warriors throughout the ages, you probably should have skipped a book titled "Badass."I got it through the early reviewers program, and left it lying around. Over the last couple of days my husband and I have taken turns picking it up and reading 5-15 pages at a time. I will probably get copies for my twenty-something year old brothers and brothers-in-law for the holidays. It is funny, in a completely overblown sort of way. Subtle and mature, it is not. Given the pulp-y cover art, the title and the subtitle, anyone who is unpleasantly surprised by these aspects of the book probably wasn't paying attention to the description. It is pretty nearly what I expected in terms of content. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many women and non-white people represented. I wouldn't recommend it for children by any means, but for older teens, say 16 and over? Sure.

[drjahnke · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Biographies of phenomenal individuals written in the style of Robert Pelton's Dangerous Places. The humor falls a little flat and lines like "boned in more ways than an amateur porn actress" are a bit over-used. A good gift for your Miller High Life chugging friend who didn't pay much attention in history class. At least you'll have introduced him to Hatshepsut and the Tuskegee Airmen.

[woodshopcowboy · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A good indication of why blogs should probably not turn into books and such. Not that this book is horrendous, gross, or anything like that - it's just done in bad taste. And it becomes stale, hard crunchy croutons without the dressing stale. And here's the thing - I got the style, so it wasn't that. Just the silliness of the commentary. A person gets tired of the the phrase donkey dong sooner or later.