History S Most Horrible Jobs

The Industrial Revolution brought about great changes, but this was a time before many labor laws, and many children had to work from sunup to sundown. The poor had to work as rat catchers and coal miners! Readers will take in important historical context as they learn all about these and other horrible jobs of the era. Sidebars and fact boxes add further detail, including the grotesque "secret" to softening animal hides for leather goods. Historical images and colorful illustrations draw readers deeper into the harsh reality of a pivotal era full of terrible working conditions.

Whether it's swilling out the crotch of a knight's soiled armor after the battle of Agincourt, risking his neck in the rigging of HMS Victory, or as "Groom of the Stool" going to places where none of Henry VIII's six wives would venture, Tony endures the worst jobs imaginable to get to the bottom (sometimes literally) of the story. From the Roman invasion to the reign of Queen Victoria, Tony has met the challenge of seeking out the worst jobs of each era. The Gunpowder Plot drew Tony to the role of the Saltpetre Man who collected human waste because its nitrate content could be turned into gunpowder. In the same vein, he has revealed some of the worst jobs behind the building of the great medieval cathedrals. With Tony we discover the dire conditions of Nelson's Victory, where the most common form of retirement was being sewn into a hammock with a couple of cannon balls and dropped over the side. Then there's the impact of the Industrial Revolution, a source of wealth and power for the few, but a cornucopia of lousy jobs for the many. Packed with disgusting yet fascinating professions, this book really gets into the grime of how life was for ordinary people, and provides a vivid alternative (and fairly disgusting) history of Britain.

Tony Robinson takes you on a guided tour through all the lousiest places for a kid to work. With profiles and testimonies of real kids in rotten jobs, this title will tell you things you probably didn't want to know.

From bestselling writer David Graeber—“a master of opening up thought and stimulating debate” (Slate)—a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs…and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After one million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are hordes of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. “Clever and charismatic” (The New Yorker), Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation and “a thought-provoking examination of our working lives” (Financial Times).

What are the Top Ten Worst Jobs in History? Read about the ten most revolting, difficult and dangerous jobs that children had to do in the past. Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

Fancy spending your days cleaning sewers with no protective clothing, letting mosquitoes turn you into a human pincushion for medical research, or popping up a chimney with a brush for a spot of cleaning? Then The World's Worst Jobs is the book for you. From Victorian toshers who sifted London's sewage for treasure, to Roman gladiators who fought to the death on a daily basis, find out all about the hardest, most revolting and most hilarious jobs in the world through history. Fantastically funny and delightfully disgusting, this is an eye-opening look at historical and modern day jobs that will leave young readers entertained and astounded.