Book gives a twist to history

On March 21, both Johann Sebastian Bach and Kevin Federline were born. It just so happens that… On March 21, both Johann Sebastian Bach and Kevin Federline were born. It just so happens that these two men both turned out to be big names in the music industry. Coincidence? Not according to Chris Regan, comedy writer for ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ and coauthor of ‘America (The Book).’ In his latest book, ‘Mass Historia: 365 Days of Historical Facts and (Mostly) Fictions,’ he elaborates: ‘Over a nine-year period (1711-1720), [Bach] composed the Bradenburg Concertos,’ and ‘between two cigarette breaks, [Federline] composed and recorded ‘Dance with a Pimp.” ‘ ‘ ‘ In ‘Mass Historia,’ Regan takes on history day by day, idiot by idiot, giving interesting facts about each day of the year and then bashing every one of them.’ ‘I wanted to stop writing about George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, so I combed the web and found interesting, true things that happened and then put a comedic twist on them,’ said Regan. With a resume including seven years and five Emmys with ‘The Daily Show,’ writing for Nickelodeon game shows, a past in stand-up comedy and current jobs with TBS’s ‘Frank TV’ and Fox’s ‘Talk Show with Spike Feresten,’ Regan’s new book is just another accomplishment to add to the list. ‘Mass Historia,’ which was just released this month, sprouted from Regan’s Web site, ‘This Day in Mythstory,’ a site that he posted on in order to keep writing after he left ‘The Daily Show.’ He said that he still writes on it, but the Web site has since been renamed ‘Mass Historia,’ since he realized the latter title was ‘impossible to pronounce correctly.’ ‘It doesn’t look anywhere near as good as the book because I’m kind of web illiterate … I guess I want people to focus on the book more,’ he said. Though ‘Mass Historia’s’ main purpose is to induce a good laugh, and most of its contents are falsifications and exaggerations, the book is packed with information ‘mdash; 365 days worth. Unfortunately some days are a little less noteworthy than others. While July 1 marked major efforts in three different battles, June 27 was simply the day Helen Keller was born. For Helen Keller’s birthday, Regan could only offer a few words: ‘Note: This entry canceled because there have never, ever been any jokes made about Helen Keller.’ Some of ‘Mass Historia’s’ blurbs offer some of the most random and outrageous information ever to have made it into a hardback history book. On Aug. 10, 1934, the first International Anarchist Convention was held in Stelton, N.J.. Regan adds that the convention didn’t go over very well ‘because none of the names had been entered into the clipboard, and the goodie bags were at best scattered and not very well organized. In short, it was anarchy.’ He even pronounces Sept. 8, 1966, to be the day that ‘Star Trek’ boldly begins three-year ratings slump,’ explaining that this ‘made the show about as popular as most of its fans were in high school.’ Regan spent two years compiling all of his material and mashing it out into comedy. ‘I just really, really had to dig,’ he said. ‘A lot of research, a lot of long hours … thank you Wikipedia, even though you always have to double and triple check that Web site.’ Even while writing the book, Regan was having fun with his studies. Though he’s a self-proclaimed history buff, he has learned just how vibrant and humorous history can be when looked at in the right light. He listed America’s many presidents, particularly William Howard Taft, to be some of his favorite subjects to tease. ‘History is full of psychos … which thankfully, most of them are dead,’ he explained with laughter. ‘And I like writing about Taft because the only thing we ever knew about the guy was how fat he was, so I was able to make a bunch of fat jokes, but also learn a lot about him.’ Upon first glancing at the book’s pages, it could almost pass for an angsty high school student’s textbook. Every photograph is marked up, most commonly with doodles and words ranging from perverted to humorously cruel. It’s reminiscent of a student getting so tired of discussing Civil War generals that most of those men end up sporting dresses and unibrows in their accompanying photos. ‘Mass Historia’ manages to burn just about everyone, from the harmless (Andy Warhol), to the corrupt (President Nixon), to the straight-out evil (Adolf Hitler). By covering the whole spectrum in his history roast, he tries to weed out any bias. According to Regan, the book hasn’t been out long enough to offend anyone. Other than a couple online notes, he hasn’t heard very much angry feedback. ‘I try to make fun of all religions, beliefs, shapes and colors,’ he said. ‘Comedy to simply offend is juvenile. It’s OK to offend, but you have to make sure you’re being fair about it.’ In producing the book, Regan not only wanted to force himself to take a chance, but also to allow his audience to get something out of the content.’ ‘I’ve always been able to hide behind a performer or a big writing staff, but this book is all mine … whether it’s a failure all mine or a success all mine,’ he explained. ‘First and foremost, I want a lot of laughs, but I also want them to get some perspective … there were a lot of terrible things that happened in history, but in the end we did survive them.’