5 People Who Died During Sex: and 100 Other Terribly Tasteless Lists (Paperback)

by Karl Shaw (Author)
Key Phrases: presidential illnesses, New York, White House, King George (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

All in perfectly bad taste

Prepare to be amazed, appalled, disgusted, and hugely entertained by this compendium of indelicate oddities. Nothing is too inane, too insane, too bizarre, or too distasteful for this incredible, seemingly impossible, but absolutely true collection of facts from across the ages and around the world.

Did you know…

…that Pope Benedict XII was such a hardened boozer that he inspired the expression “drunk as a pope”? (From “10 Historic Drunks”)

…that as a special honeymoon treat, Prince Charles read Princess Diana passages from the works of Carl Jung and Laurens van der Post? (From “History’s 10 Least Romantic Honeymoons”)

…that the best-dressed gentlemen in medieval England exposed their genitals below a short-fitting tunic? (From “History’s 10 Greatest Fashion Mistakes”)

…that Alfred Hitchcock suffered from ovophobia—fear of eggs? (From “10 Phobias of the Famous”)

…that King Louis XIV only took three baths in his lifetime, each of them under protest?
(From “10 Great Unwashed”)

…that in 1930, Sears customers became enraged when the catalog was first printed on glossy, non-absorbent paper?
(From “12 Magical Moments in Toilet Paper History”)

About the Author
KARL SHAW is the author of Royal Babylon. He lives in Staffordshire, England.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (February 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767920597
• ISBN-13: 978-0767920599
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #309,815 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Factual Error, April 11, 2007

By	Crystal Ellison (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found the book interesting, but I found it hard to take any of the information listed in the book as fact. The author erronously cites Victor Hugo as penning The Three Musketeers when it was in fact Alexandre Dumas. With a glaring error such as that, what else could be miscredit as fact that I am unaware of? I did enjoy the book, but only as a piece of interesting fiction.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read It On the Porcelain Throne, May 29, 2007

By	Dan Herak (South Florida, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

There are certain people who will simply love this book. I should know as I encountered a number of them while reading this at the coffee house. Light, fast, breezy and morbid usually adds up to a book worth at least looking at and 5 PEOPLE WHO DIED DURING SEX is no exception. The book is good for those times when you have a few minutes to kill - on the can, a few minutes before nodding off...

The author is a bit sloppy with some of his facts, though, as one reviewer has already mentioned. He refers to the 1972 Olympics in Montreal, when they were in Munich that year (Montreal was in 1976). And when he is not sloppy, the author stretches things a bit to get his lists together, as when he refers to one actor having committed "accidental suicide," a true oxymoron if one ever existed.

It is a bit ironic. People will forgive an academic for errors in a far more substantial book. But, boy, don't mess with people's trivia. Still, the book only sets you back a ten spot. Just don't use it as a reference for any term papers

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Buy: Dreadfully Funny, Wonderful Book, March 11, 2007

By	William D. Warren "Author, How to Die: or The... (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The thing that attracted me first to this book is that it isn't bogged down with worthless information like "plot," "imagery," or other thematic elements, it is just everything you have always wanted to know, but never knew how to ask, conveniently packaged into 101 lists for quick learning and easy reference.
Some of the lists, such as "40 Syphilitics" are merely, bare bones, listings. No unneeded details, just the names. However, other lists such as "10 Appalling Pontiffs" not only lists the names of the 10 worst popes, but goes into the story of exactly what made them so horrible and evil.
This book also tells you things that you want to hear, like ten literary greats' thoughts on William Shakespeare, a pleasant burst of fresh air for English majors such as myself who loathed the day that man ever put quill to paper.
This is a book that I pick up every day and thumb through. My copy is full of dog ears and highlighted text. One of the best humor/reference book purchases I have made.