IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: The Return of the Thing

That thing is Sh!t Went Down Volume II

I had to be vague in my Facebook ad that brought you here because you can’t use “sh!t”, even spelled that way, in paid ads. What’s the Big News? Holy freaking shit it’s this:

Volume II of ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN is back! You can buy the fucker right now. Not only that, but for the first time ever it’s available in trade paperback! If you already know the publishing history of this book and just want to go buy Volume II now, here are some links to do so:

Amazon US / Amazon Canada / Amazon Australia / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Indigo / Walmart

The book should be in all the other Amazon stores if you’re in Spain or Germany or wherever, so feel free to do a local search or try your other preferred online retailer.

For those who are all “Wait. There was a Volume II, and then there wasn’t, but now it’s back?” permit me to explain, then I’ll repeat those links.

Volume I of On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down was self-published in April of 2021. Then, in September of 2022, I self-published On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down: Number 2. Yes, that subtitle is a “shit went down” poop joke.

“Number 2” was only released in 7X10 casebound hardcover and as an ebook. It’s worth noting that 90% of the books sold are the paper version; it’s the kind of book people want a physical version of. Anyfuckingway, the intention was that the following spring we would release it as a smaller trade paper book at a lower price. But something happened to change all that.

Volume I sold over 50,000 copies in two years. For a traditionally published book that’s a helluva lot. For a self-published book it’s fucking outstanding. And that’s why, two months after Number 2 was released, my agent got me a massive two-book deal with Bantam Books, which is part of Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the United States.

As part of the deal, in April of 2023 both self-published volumes were removed from sale. A new version of Volume I was then released by Bantam in October of 2023 and has continued its amazing sales streak. (Links to buy the Bantam Books version of Volume I are here.)

As I mentioned, it was a two-book deal. But I have a totally new book I’ve been pouring my heart into for over two years. I discussed it with my agent and my publisher, and we decided that instead of Number 2 being the second book in the deal, a new world history book will be coming via Bantam, probably in 2026. We are all very excited about this new book. The working title is Greedy Sexist Religious Bigots: A History of Humanity.

If you’re coming to this page from Facebook and are not yet a free subscriber, can I please suggest that you subscribe? I’ve almost finished all my research for this new book and am about to start writing it. During the writing process I’m going to be covering a lot of different aspects of human history, and there will be ample historical rabbit holes I’ll want to go down that won’t fit for the book but will work as individual articles. What I’m saying is, there is about to be a whole lot of new free Sweary History stories getting posted here, and the Facebook Al Gore Rhythm probably won’t show them to you. So gimme your fuckin’ email, please, and you’ll never miss a post. There is also an app if you don’t dig email:

Back to Number 2. Since I decided that it is not going to be traditionally published, I get to re-self-publish it. It’s gone through some updates, and I’ve replaced several stories. It's going to be at least two years before there is a brand-new book of mine for sale, but On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down: Number 2 is something you can buy right fucking now. Those links again:

Amazon US / Amazon Canada / Amazon Australia / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Indigo / Walmart

For those who prefer audio books, only Volume I is also available as an audio book. You’ll have to wait for an audio version of Number 2.

And don’t forget to subscribe! If you already have a free subscription, consider doing a free trial to see all the cool shit that’s behind the paywall: