Stephen Pile

The series of books by Stephen Pile listing the great heroic failures of our time is surely one of western civilisation’s greatest moments. Here is a couple of hundred pages packed with tales of people comprehensively failing at whatever they have set out to achieve. It’s the type of book you can open at any page, read an entry, piss yourself laughing, and amid growing concern for your wellbeing by those in the vicinity, get on with your life. Examples include “The Least Accurate Map” (which had ramblers mistakenly hiking through a hospital ward) and “The Least Successful Fun Festival” (amongst other problems, the booked Elvis impersonator, some chap named Rupert, failed to turn up).

No matter how many times you read this you will get a laugh.… (mehr)

"The book of heroic failures" is, quite simply, one of the funniest books I have ever read. If you're like me and enjoy reading about the complete bugger-ups of other people (and I think you are) you'll piss yourself laughing throughout "The Book of Heroic Failures".

I've always been a fan of spectacular failures so I really enjoyed the many spectacular tales of failures and flops. Who could forget the infamous 1912 Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race where neither boat was able to finish (and one rower wandered off at a critical moment to chat to his old chum Boswell)? Or the amateur soccer team from England that accidentally found itself playing against a professional German team (the German fans ended up cheering the English team whenever they went near the ball)?

Over two hundred pages of heroic failures, and almost everyone a gem.… (mehr)