Snafu

Ed Helms, actor, comedian, writer and host of the history podcast SNAFU, turns his attention to history's biggest blunders in this illustrated book. SNAFU is a military-slang acronym for Situation Normal: All F*cked Up, a way of saying that things are a mess but then again they always are.

Acting as an unofficial history teacher, Helms works through the 1950s to the 2000s one decade at a time, picking out the most outrageous screwups of each. The stories include plans to plant nukes on the moon, to train cats as CIA spies and to turn the weather into a weapon. He unpacks the ironic decisions behind these episodes and the absurd, often alarming fallout, focusing on some of America's greatest mishaps.

The book mixes humor with lively illustrations. Its stories are funny and puzzling, and sometimes even inspiring, and they offer fresh insight into how the world got to where it is. Helms suggests that learning from them might keep history from repeating itself.