By SilentJay74
Badass
A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live
Paperback
By Ben Thompson
HarperCollins
2009
So rare is it that a book grabs my attention, and bitch slaps me while still in the bookstore. Such was the case with Badass by Ben Thompson. True to its name Badass is a relentless onslaught of the toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to ever live.
At first I thought there was no way in the name of Zeus’ Thundering ass that a book could contain so much “BadassITUDE”! Man was I wrong. Badass grabs you, punches you in the face, and makes you feel as if you should be in the kitchen making IT a sandwich.
From the moment I opened this book I was bombarded by quotes from memorable Badass’s throughout history. As I continued on, I was met with “The Bone-Crushing Principles of Complete and Utter Badassitude”! This small, 5-step program, will guide you through the 321 pages of ass-kicking, without feeling the need to pull over and ask directions.
Badass does cover some well known asskickers throughout history, and some that are not well known. For example; Wolf the Quarrelsome shows up in history only twice, and both times he’s kicking the shit out of someone. Also there is Peter Francisco, a hero of the American Revolution, as George Washington described: “Without him we would have lost two crucial battles, perhaps the War, and with it our freedom. He was truly a one-man army.”
Now don’t get your thoughts twisted at this point. Just because someone throughout history was heroic in some form or fashion, does not make them a Badass. While hero’s such as Leonidas, Elliot Ness, and Bruce Lee made the Badass cut, so do villains such as Vlad the Impaler, Blackbeard, and Ramses.
From cover to cover, Badass pulls you in. This is one of those books that you cannot seem to put down, now matter how much nagging from the wife or girlfriend seems to come your way.
Ben Thompson’s writing style is laced with pop culture references from Clerks to “All your base are belong to us.” This writing style, I believe, not only ensnares its readers from Generation X, but would make History majors out of most high school and college graduates, if it were ever added to the curriculum. Want a taste of it now? Head on over to his site badassoftheweek.com.
Ladies be warned, a reviewer on Amazon made this accurate analogy: “WARNING! Badass WILL SUCK THE ESTROGEN RIGHT OUT OF YOU!” Badass does more than that. It takes you first-hand into the melees and will change your outlook on life. Please do not go into work after having read this book, and punch your co-worker, boss, or whomever pisses you off, in the throat. Just because you have now read about Badasses, it doesn’t automatically make you one.
So why write a review on a book that was published in 2009? The answer is simple. Ben Thompson has given us the real Badasses of history, but on March 15, 2011, he covers the Legends. Badass: The Birth of a Legend hits shelves, and promises “Spine Crushing Tales of the most Merciless Gods, Monsters, Heros, Villains, and Mythical Creatures ever envisioned!”
Already on my Amazon wish list, I can’t wait to be transported once again into the fray!
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