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Napoleon's Hemorrhoids: And Other Small Events That Changed History |  | Author: Phil Mason
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
List Price: $22.95
Buy Used: $10.98
as of 3/19/2010 04:01 CDT details
You Save: $11.97 (52%)
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Seller: glenthebookseller
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 17777
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 1602397643
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9781602397644
ASIN: 1602397643
Publication Date: September 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Why does Canada owe its economy to a red fox? What were Einstein’s last words? How did Charlton Heston’s broken nose land him the part of Moses? Hilarious, fascinating, and a roller coaster of dizzying, historical what-ifs, Napoleon’s Hemorrhoids is a potpourri for serious historians and casual history buffs. In one of Phil Mason’s many revelations, you’ll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You’ll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon’s painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield. You’ll learn that an irate blacksmith threw his hammer at a fox and missed, hitting a rock and revealing the largest vein of silver ever discovered, thus changing the finances of Canada forever. Interestingly, Charlton Heston was cast as Moses in The Ten Commandments because his broken nose made him look like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of Moses. Finally, no one knows Einstein’s last words. They were in German, a language his nurse did not speak.
A treasure trove filled with fascinating anecdotes about the tiny ripples that created big waves in history, Napoleon’s Hemorrhoids is much more than just a trivial fact book; it is an astonishing historical-fate book revealing how our most famous incidents, best-loved works of art, and most accepted historical outcomes are simply twists of fate. .
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| Customer Reviews:
 ok, not bad, fluffy and very British March 3, 2010
D. H. Richards (Silver Spring, MD USA)
This is, pardon the expression, bathroom reading. Short little essays on weird or interesting bits of history. Many are concerning bits of British history and British sports (lots of Cricket and Footbal (Soccer) references here). Get this for the beach house or guestroom.
 gift February 24, 2010
Rebecca Ollason
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
this book was a gift so I can't review it until the recipient lets me know what he thinks!
Amusing, light hearted approaches to history February 21, 2010
Robert C. Ross (New Jersey)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Phil Mason's thesis is that "the impression of history we get from our school teachers and our history books is one of logical progression and reason. Things happen for a reason. Big things happen for big reasons. Napoleon's Hemorrhoids explodes this myth. Much of history turns out to be the consequence of small acts of fortune, accident or luck, good or bad."
Mason has collected hundreds of examples of small events (many with a British slant) which he argues "determined" the course of future events. He is obviously an advocate of what was once called "The Great Man" theory of history, and it is great fun to think about "what if" in many of his examples.
A few of many decisive small events:
Napoleon had an attack of haemorrhoids that intervened with his usual battlefield surveillance.
Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they ran too low on fuel.
A Canadian blacksmith threw his hammer at a fox and missed, but found a gigantic vein of silver.
Charlton Heston was cast as Moses in "The Ten Commandments" because his broken nose made him look like Michelangelo's
Einstein's last words were in German; his nurse did not understand German.
Winston Churchill might have died on the Western Front in World War I with his orderly during an artillery attack; instead he was ordered to meet with his corps commander three miles away.
Fidel Castro failed his tryout with the Washington Senators in 1947.
Ronald Reagan's application to become a member of the American Communist Party in 1938 was rejected because his vetters "thought he was a feather brain...a flake who couldn't be trusted with a political opinion for more than 30 minutes."
A great deal of speculation is involved, of course; how would things be different if we knew Einstein's last words; how many other near misses did Chruchill (or Hitler for that matter) experience; did great events really turn on such small events?
But as a source of gossipy events (did they really happen, the book is short on footnotes), it can be great fun to read and speculate on the events described here. The book is well indexed and divided into ten chapters covering history, politics, chance beginnings, business, the arts and sports, etc. That makes it easy to point to the particular passage when you are challenged for your authority for some outrageous statement you make to a friend or neighbor.
Robert C. Ross 2010
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