What is the stupidest book you have ever read?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Hard to say. Hitler's Willing Executioners (Goldhagen) is pretty fucking stupid though (and in several different ways). I remember reading it and finding it hard to believe that it was for real. But I've almost certainly read more idiotic non-fiction books over the years... can't quite remember any at the moment, but they'll come.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The title is certainly a good indication that it's probably pretty stupid. You must now provide details of the idiocy of the books mentioned in first post.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The Da Vinci Code is up there with some of the worst.

Did you think the movie was bad as well?

Redundant question is redundant.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Mein Kampf (I stopped reading after one page due to the massive s**t I saw there). I don't agree with any of the s**t written there, I just wanted to see into the mind of a massive maniac.

Mein Kampf is certainly one of the worst books ever published, but I'm not sure if 'stupidest' is quite the right word. I mean, sure, it is a very stupid book on many levels, but I think the turgid insanity of it all is its main feature.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

...according to The Sunday Times Brian Appelyard.

As a recommendation for 'idiocy' I think that that would have done on its own...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yeah, Mein Kampf is really a quite interesting book if you're willing to look past the turgid prose.

As a book it isn't at all interesting (or, rather, no more interesting than a deranged rant on Stormfront). As a primary source, aha. That would be a different matter entirely.

But the writing style though. Christ. I don't think, and this is no exaggeration, that I have ever read worse.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

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Ummm... This is wrong?

Yes. A much higher proportion of women than men chose to stay at home and a much higher proportion of women than men chose to work in part-time jobs; you could argue that the cultural factors responsible for this are examples of discrimination, but only with great difficulty and certain unfortunate implications.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I think the prize goes to some "Economics 101" type book actually available at Cologne uni library... badly translated from the American to boot... but I wouldn't be able to tell you the title or the author or authors.

Stupid in the predictable ways, or were there special extra horrors?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

For idiocy at academic level, I nominate the bulk of Patrick Joyce's work. Postmodernist history is usually pretty terrible, but when it isn't even theoretically consistent...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Return of the Native

*ahem*

Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy.

He's just trying to make it clear that he really hates that book.