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    Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
    Unavailable
    Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
    Unavailable
    Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
    Ebook267 pages3 hours

    Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped

    By Tony Perrottet

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    When Tony Perrottet heard that Napoleon's "baguette" had been stolen by his disgruntled doctor a few days after the Emperor's death, he rushed out to New Jersey. Why? Because that's where an eccentric American collector who had purchased Napoleon's member at a Parisian auction now kept the actual relic in an old suitcase under his bed.

    The story of Napoleon's privates triggered Perrottet's quest to research other such exotic sagas from history, to discover the actual evidence behind the most famous age-old mysteries: Did Churchill really send condoms of a surprising size to Stalin? Were champagne glasses really molded upon Marie Antoinette's breasts? What was JFK's real secret service? What were Casanova's best pickup lines? Napoleon's Privates is filled with offbeat, riotously entertaining anecdotes that are guaranteed to amaze, shock, and enliven any dinner party.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061863417
    Unavailable
    Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
    Author

    Tony Perrottet

    A long-term denizen of Manhattan, Tony Perrottet is the author of Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists and The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Greek Games. His irreverent yet thoroughly researched approach to history has made him a regular contributor to Smithsonian Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Outside, The Believer, National Geographic Adventure, and the New York Times, with frequent appearances on NPR radio and the History Channel, where he has discussed everything from the Crusades to the birth of disco.

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    Reviews for Napoleon's Privates

    3.5/5

    66 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Absolutely fascinating, and utterly hilarious to boot. I hadn't heard of many of the tales thoroughly researched and entertainingly presented in this book - but I was sucked in from the first sentence. Terrific, terrific stuff, from which glasses are modeled after historical figures' breasts, to promiscuous nuns, to historical body parts bought-and-sold, and other scandalous behavior. And it's all true! (or not, as the case may be - he de-bunks several of the old scandalous tales, too.) Definitely a must-read!
    • 5/5
      I like this book and there was a lot of little things in history that we didn't know.
    • 4/5
      “Napoleon’s Privates” is the type of history book that I lap up. While I’m sure it’s useful to know of important wars and treaties, I much prefer to know about the famous eighteenth century French cross-dresser Chevalier D’Eon, or that Nostradamus wrote a book on making conserves or that smut was (as claimed by the author) invented in 1819. And, it’s always pleasing to read more on Hitler’s testicle(s).“Napoleon’s Privates” dips into history’s odd and scandalous moments, and means that we don’t have to trawl through otherwise dry biographies or history books to find out when, for example, the first “blue” movie was made or what “the semen of Hercules” was (squeezed mustard-rocket leaf apparently). For this, I am eternally thankful to Mr Perrottet.
    • 4/5
      Although published several years ago, this spicy little book is well worth reading today. The short chapters certainly allow for quick study and the salacious topics spike some piquant entertainment. But if swallowed in one sitting, the reader might become over-stimulated if not bored.“Napoleon’s Privates” does not refer to the Little Corporal’s soldiers nor does it deal extensively with the French Emperor’s penal captivity. Rather, the material unveils Bonaparte’s penile embarrassments, amorous peccadilloes, and sexual shortcomings in more than a half-dozen interspersed segments.The revisiting technique binds the volume together. The chapters are glib and pithy, and occasionally include sidebars that expand the present topic with related information. The pieces span from 330 BC to post-1960 in jumbled order and indulge in such subjects as pornography, sex implements, real estate, culinary pursuits, and restaurants. The author strokes our curiosity through glimpses of artists, literary figures, historical characters, politicians, and industrial giants (otherwise termed “Robber Barons”). These disclosures mostly are treated through spreadsheet formats that reveal the person’s personality, peccadilloes, or prurient parts. Of particular American interest might be the revelations about U.S. Presidents: a philandering George Washington; the secret family of Thomas Jefferson; the questionable manhood of James Buchanan; the outing of Abraham Lincoln; or the purported dalliances of JFK.Perrottet’s style is breezy, sprinkled with touches of humor. For instance, in his chapter on latex condoms, he provides an insertion about Winston Churchill, who during World War II, had a special batch of condoms constructed in double the usual size and shipped to Joseph Stalin with the labeling: “Made in Britain—Medium.” Perrottet has published several historical works and he has gained exposure through media, such as NPR, History Channel, and Smithsonian Magazine. His credentials demonstrate that he has more credibility than a mere buff in this historical exposé. He adds authority by acknowledging the input of several institutional experts heading classical, historical, and arcane collections. His use of chapter-ending footnotes for further reading arouses an air of substantial command for those readers who have time and interest in investigating that segment’s material further. Plus, Perrottet includes an index for those super-curious readers—that almost makes this a textbook, doesn’t it?
    • 4/5
      A very enjoyable read whether straight through or as a pickup during odd times. The short sections made the latter easy. It's quite a collection of sexual trivia over 2500 years & it piqued my curiosity about a lot of other history. It provided a lot of continuity to other historical books I've read & was very well documented. It is very interesting how our sexual mores have changed & it gave great insight, without being the least offensive. For instance, there were several sections on homosexuality, including the origin of the term & how it was treated over the years. From the days of the ancient Greeks, when it was expected that an older man would 'tutor' young men (only from a superior position & it was scandalous to have relations with another older man) to misunderstandings about bed sharing practices, a pretty clear picture emerges that shows just how narrow minded we were before the current sexual revolution.This probably isn't a book for the serious historian, but for someone interested in history & sex (aren't we all?) it was a fun read & I highly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      Fascinating look at history "bits" that never made it into a textbook. Humorously written with clearly listed sources and references for further information should you want to do a deeper study on any of the subjects. A real pleasure to read - not at all a "dry" history!
    • 4/5
      This book contains over sixty chapters devoted to historical sort of “urban legend” tales involving scandals, sex, body parts or other juicy tidbits that would get most people’s attention if you heard it being discussed. Much of it is about famous people, but we also get topics devoted to ideas surrounding sex, such as how it was believed that masturbation caused a long list of physical ailments. Some of the stories involve Napoleon, Cleopatra, Casanova, popes, Hitler, JFK and other earlier presidents, the practice of castrating young boys in the hopes they’d be famous singers, the birth of the stag movie, syphilis, etc, etc.In the introduction the author claims to not want to trivialize history, but to bring it to full life. We get the general rumor as well as some actual facts that either debunk or support the tale with sources and further reading suggestions on the subject provided for each chapter, all told in a light-hearted, humorous manner. Most chapters are 2-4 pages in length, so you don’t get buried in any one subject. Too bad school history books aren’t told in this manner.I don’t think the book is intended to be read cover-to-cover in one sitting, but I found myself getting through over half the book before I started jumping around to look at specific topics I hadn’t reached yet. I just know that some of what I’ve read will be brought up in future conversations.