Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great compilation of interesting tid bits, although some are more appealing than others. As a History major I enjoyed the historical accuracy vs. urban legend aspect of the essays. Most of them did make for great conversation with others and it was fun to throw around some facts about the more absurd, perverse or taboo pieces of world history.

Also I must note that I appreciate that the essays involving homosexual history have no tinge of judgment or repugnance hidden in them (as some other similar collections have). So thank you for that Perrottet.

Good use of references as well, you can tell the author did his research. And it prompted me to pick up some more reading material so I may further delve into some of the topics that Perrottet just touched upon briefly.

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.

As one might guess, the prurient stories are the focus of the book; and since they had the author's full attention, they really are very funny. I kept the book by my bed, which was perfect because of the very short articles -- two or three read and I was in slumber land, probably with a small smile.
A couple things an editor should have caught: while his discussion on the accuracy and relevance of the permanent virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is right-on-target, he makes the common error of identifying The Immaculate Conception as the moment when Mary conceived Jesus. Wrong. The Immaculate Conception, in Catholic teaching, is the moment when Mary herself was conceived in her mother's womb, and "enjoyed in advance" the merits of the cross. When Gabriel appeared to Mary and she conceived Jesus is The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Hey -- sorry if that's Too Much Information.)
On the history of masturbation, he didn't get the sin of Onan exactly right. At the time, Jewish law called for a brother to impregnate his brother's widow. Onan withdrew and failed to honor his responsibility.
Nit-picking aside, the book is a lot of fun; but let me suggest you find it in a library or borrow it from a friend. You'll finish reading it in a few days.

This book contains a wealth of historical gems. In over fifty chapters, the author presents a series of historical snippets most of which have, for obvious reasons, been omitted from standard history texts. Although most of the topics are sex-oriented in some way, not all of them are in that category; some involve gastronomy (in various forms), odd habits, celebrity quirks, etc. The writing style is refreshing to say the least; that is, it is irreverent, tongue-in-cheek, accessible, engaging, witty, down-to-earth and in many cases absolutely hilarious. The references that are indicated at the end of each chapter, the authorities that were consulted, as named in the acknowledgments, as well as the author's own expertise give the reader confidence as to the accuracy of the stories that are presented. This is a book that can be thoroughly enjoyed by absolutely anyone. History has never been so much fun to read.

This book is, shall we say, filled with all kinds a tidbits that hit below the belt. Shockingly funny, often extremely irreverent, Napoleon's Privates certainly won't leave anyone hanging (gasp)! While this book certainly won't find its way into history classes (at least I would hope not), it takes a fresh (and very bare) look at historical figures and practices ranging from urine taxes to whether or not Hitler was dealing with a full set (of gonads, that is).

Certainly, Napoleon's Privates is a quick read that would make for great material to take to the beach or to the "reading room."

... I would have ended up loving history! This is a very funny book, but it's also serious, even very erudite, as if David Sedaris took up historical research. The author has obviously done some hard core homework (there are lots of academic sources cited at the end of each segment if you want to read more about how Columbus discovered the clitoris and other enlightening facts -- that's Renaldo Columbus, not Christopher). The author says in his introduction that the stories were chosen to lure people in, so they're very entertaining. You follow the story of Napoleon's penis, for example (which is the symbolic anecdote which crops up throughout the book) and you get to learn a lot about the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, his outrageous marriage to Josephine (she was a real party animal, playing Britney Speers to his Bill Gates) and his exile on Saint Helena. The penis was stolen by an angry doctor during the autopsy -- and has floated around the world. How it ended up in New Jersey is an epic saga... (there's also a youtube video on the subject, called Napoleon's Privates). Anwyay, a great summer or back-to-school read --

This is a light, quick, amusing read. I know that the author didn't intend this to be a scholarly work- he even states in the introduction that he intends for the book to be a modern day "Secret Cabinet" to be perused at random- but there were several anecdotes that I found quite interesting and would loved to have seen explored further. In fact, I think the best thing about this book is the way he lists a bibliography after each story, giving the reader the opportunity for further reading. As a history buff, I really appreciated that.

This book would make great summer reading, and it did make me curious to read the author's other books.

Great compilation of interesting tid bits, although some are more appealing than others. As a History major I enjoyed the historical accuracy vs. urban legend aspect of the essays. Most of them did make for great conversation with others and it was fun to throw around some facts about the more absurd, perverse or taboo pieces of world history.

Also I must note that I appreciate that the essays involving homosexual history have no tinge of judgment or repugnance hidden in them (as some other similar collections have). So thank you for that Perrottet.

Good use of references as well, you can tell the author did his research. And it prompted me to pick up some more reading material so I may further delve into some of the topics that Perrottet just touched upon briefly.

Finally... The answers to all those important questions that have plagued mankind over the years. Who's buried in Custer's tomb? How many children did Jefferson have with his slave Sally Hemings? And was Napoleon's "private parts" go to the grave with him? These and many other "critical" questions are answered in Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped by Tony Perrottet. Yeah, nothing much in here *has* to be known to get by in life, but it's a fun read and a look at history that's not normally discussed in polite company.

(Normally, I'd list the table of contents here to give the prospective reader an idea of what's included. But each "chapter" is only a couple pages long, the titles are full questions or statements, and it goes on for three pages. The listing would be longer than my review. Trust me when I say they touch on a whole lot of strange and bizarre items...)

Perrottet's idea for the book started when he heard that Napoleon's "privates" had been absconded with at death, and were now in the possession of a guy who lived in New Jersey. After tracing down that particular story, he started following up on many other salacious rumors of people and places. Did J. Edgar Hoover, the gruff head of the FBI for many years, actually go to parties in drag? The rumors say yes, but the evidence is lacking and the main accuser had a bit of a motive for spreading the story. Were ancient Olympian athletes pure and natural, untouched by today's level of performance enhancing substances? Nope, they were just as driven to win at any cost, using potions, charms, and rituals designed to offer up an edge over the competition. They would have had to have been to try things like Ethiopian dirt, the flesh of a spotted gecko, or squeezed mustard-rocket leaf (known as the Semen of Hercules). Yuck... All those giants of industry, those "robber barons" who built the foundation of many of our industries? Perrottet charts a number of them, looking at their childhood, their big break, the signature coupe, their bid for respectability, their secret tip, and finally, their "inspirational quote". Easy to get choked up with Jay Gould's classic "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half."

This smallish book is filled with historical factoids that probably won't make much of a difference in how you live your life. But it's a fun read, and it'll offer up some alternative perspectives on who and/or why certain historical figures behaved as they did. I definitely won't look at a champagne class the same way again...

Tony Perrottet's latest books is a fun and intriguing read. After a few chapters (on the history of Nepoleon's penis, the theories about Hitler's one testicle, the medieval church's rigid control over how sex should be performed), I realized that if more histories included the juicy details of the past, we'd all have a much better appreciation of history. The book is laugh-out-loud funny and brain-teasingly intriguing at the same time.