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.

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

Arts & Photography

PERROTTET, TONY

History & Criticism

It Books

The Australian writer and photographer reflects upon his travels in search of the real Robinson Crusoe, Ernest Hemingway's Cuban fishing guide, and the place Somerset Maugham christened "last place God created"

Off the Deep End: Travels in Forgotten Frontiers

Travel

Travel Writing

HarperCollins Publishers PTY

Sex and travel have always been intertwined, and never more so than on the classic Grand Tour of Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today the Continent is still littered with salacious remnants of that golden age, where secret boudoirs, notorious dungeons, and forbidden artifacts lured travelers all the way from London to Capri. In The Sinner’s Grand Tour, celebrated historian and travel writer Tony Perrottet sets off to discover a string of legendary sites and relics that are still kept far from public view. In southern France, an ancient text leads him inside the château of the Marquis de Sade, now owned by fashion icon Pierre Cardin. In Paris, an 1883 prostitute guide helps him discover the Belle Époque fantasy brothel Le Chabanais and the lost “sex chair” of King Edward VII. Renaissance documents in the Vatican Secret Archives point the way to the Pope’s very own apartments in Vatican City, wherein lies the fabled Stufetta del Bibbiena, a pornography-covered bathroom painted by Raphael in 1516. With his unique blend of original research, sharp wit, and hilarious anecdotes, Perrottet brings us a romping travel adventure through the scandalous backrooms of historical Europe.

The Sinner's Grand Tour: A Journey Through the Historical Underbelly of Europe

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Crown

The ancient Romans were responsible for many remarkable achievements—Roman numerals, straight roads—but one of their lesser-known contributions was the creation of the tourist industry. The first society in history to enjoy safe and easy travel, Romans embarked in droves on the original Grand Tour, traveling from the lost city of Troy to the top of the Acropolis in Athens, from the fallen Colossus at Rhodes to the Pyramids of Egypt, ending with the obligatory Nile cruise to the very edge of the Empire. And as travel writer Tony Per-rottet discovers, the popularity of this route has only increased with time. Perrottet first discovered the origins of this ancient itinerary when he came across the world’s oldest surviving guidebook in the New York Public Library. Intrigued by the possibility of re-creating the tour, and wanting to seize the opportunity for one last excursion with Les, his pregnant girlfriend, before their lives changed forever, Perrottet set off to rediscover life as an ancient Roman. He was armed for travel with only the essentials—a backpack full of ancient texts and a second-century highway map reproduced on a twenty-foot-long scroll. As he retraced the historic route, fighting the crowds and reading aloud to Les two-thousand-year-old descriptions of bad food, inadequate accommodations, and pushy tour guides, it became clear to him that tourism has actually changed very little since Caesar’s day. A lively blend of fascinating historical anecdotes and hilarious personal encounters, interspersed with irreverent and often eerily prescient quotes from the ancients, Route 66 A.D. vividly recaptures the magic of the Roman Empire in all its complexity and wonder.

Route 66 A.D. : On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists

History

Ancient Civilizations

Random House]

The ancient Romans were responsible for many remarkable achievements—Roman numerals, straight roads—but one of their lesser-known contributions was the creation of the tourist industry. The first people in history to enjoy safe and easy travel, Romans embarked on the original Grand Tour, journeying from the lost city of Troy to the Acropolis, from the Colossus at Rhodes to Egypt, for the obligatory Nile cruise to the very edge of the empire. And, as Tony Perrottet discovers, the popularity of this route has only increased with time. Intrigued by the possibility of re-creating the tour, Perrottet, accompanied by his pregnant girlfriend, sets off to discover life as an ancient Roman. The result is this lively blend of fascinating historical anecdotes and hilarious personal encounters, interspersed with irreverent and often eerily prescient quotes from the ancients—a vivid portrait of the Roman Empire in all its complexity and wonder.

Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists

Random House Trade Paperbacks

Insight Guide Chile &amp; Easter Island is a comprehensive full-color guide to the culture, history and people of this varied and fascinating country. The book is illustrated throughout with hundreds of specially commissioned color photographs. Our inspirational Best of Chile section illustrates the country's highlights, from national parks to historic buildings and vineyards to hot springs - making sure you don't miss anything.

Insight Guides: Chile (1st ed)

South America

Singapore, Singapore: Apa Productions

Insight Guides South America (3rd ed)

Apa Productions

The surprising story of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and the scrappy band of rebel men and women who followed them. Most people are familiar with the basics of the Cuban Revolution of 1956–1959: it was led by two of the twentieth century’s most charismatic figures, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara; it successfully overthrew the island nation’s US–backed dictator; and it quickly went awry under Fidel’s rule. But less is remembered about the amateur nature of the movement or the lives of its players. In this wildly entertaining and meticulously researched account, historian and journalist Tony Perrottet unravels the human drama behind history’s most improbable revolution: a scruffy handful of self-taught revolutionaries—many of them kids just out of college, literature majors, and art students, and including a number of extraordinary women—who defeated 40,000 professional soldiers to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Cuba Libre!’s deep dive into the revolution reveals fascinating details: How did Fidel’s highly organized lover Celia Sánchez whip the male guerrillas into shape? Who were the two dozen American volunteers who joined the Cuban rebels? How do you make land mines from condensed milk cans—or, for that matter, cook chorizo à la guerrilla (sausage guerrilla-style)? Cuba Libre! is an absorbing look back at a liberation movement that captured the world's imagination with its spectacular drama, foolhardy bravery, tragedy, and, sometimes, high comedy—and that set the stage for Cold War tensions that pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Cuba Libre!: Che, Fidel, and the Improbable Revolution That Changed World History

Americas

Penguin Publishing Group

What was it like to attend the ancient Olympic Games? With the summer Olympics’ return to Athens, Tony Perrottet delves into the ancient world and lets the Greek Games begin again. The acclaimed author of Pagan Holiday brings attitude, erudition, and humor to the fascinating story of the original Olympic festival, tracking the event day by day to re-create the experience in all its compelling spectacle. Using firsthand reports and little-known sources—including an actual Handbook for a Sports Coach used by the Greeks—The Naked Olympics creates a vivid picture of an extravaganza performed before as many as forty thousand people, featuring contests as timeless as the javelin throw and as exotic as the chariot race. Peeling away the layers of myth,Perrottet lays bare the ancient sporting experience—including the round-the-clock bacchanal inside the tents of the Olympic Village, the all-male nude workouts under the statue of Eros, and history’s first corruption scandals involving athletes. Featuring sometimes scandalous cameos by sports enthusiasts Plato, Socrates, and Herodotus, The Naked Olympics offers essential insight into today’s Games and an unforgettable guide to the world’s first and most influential athletic festival. "Just in time for the modern Olympic games to return to Greece this summer for the first time in more than a century, Tony Perrottet offers up a diverting primer on the Olympics of the ancient kind….Well researched; his sources are as solid as sources come. It's also well writen….Perhaps no book of the season will show us so briefly and entertainingly just how complete is our inheritance from the Greeks, vulgarity and all." --The Washington Post

The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games

Random House Publishing Group

LA SORPRENDENTE HISTORIA DEL CHE GUEVARA, FIDEL CASTRO Y EL AGUERRIDO GRUPO DE REBELDES Y MUJERES AVENTURERAS QUE LOS SIGUIERON.&nbsp; La mayoría de la gente está familiarizada con los elementos básicos de la Revolución cubana de 1956 a 1958. Sin embargo, poco se conoce sobre la naturaleza improvisada del boyante movimiento, ni de las vidas de sus protagonistas. En esta entretenida y meticulosa investigación, el historiador y escritor de viajes Tony Perrottet desentraña la odisea detrás de la más increíble revolución del mundo: la historia de como un puñado de jóvenes desaliñados y revolucionarios autodidactas vencieron a cuarenta mil soldados veteranos para derrocar al régimen del dictador Fulgencio Batista.&nbsp; ¡CUBA LIBRE! se sumerge en las profundidades de la Revolución, revela detalles fascinantes y descubre al movimiento que capturó la imaginación del mundo gracias a su naturaleza dramática, su temeraria valentía, su carácter trágico y, en ocasiones, su alta comicidad.&nbsp; «Tony Perrottet sabe cómo contar una historia ¡y qué historia es esta! En ¡CUBA LIBRE! [...] ha escrito un relato fabuloso de uno de los sucesos mas improbables, románticos y asombrosos del siglo xx». --Chris Ryan, autor del bestseller Sex at Dawn y Civilized del New York Times&nbsp; «¡Una lectura atractiva, divertida y rápida, y profundamente documental! ¡CUBA LIBRE! trastoca la mitología de la Revolución cubana y descubre dimensiones genuinamente épicas de la isla y su historia». --Patrick Symmes, autor de Chasing Che y The Boys from Dolores TONY PERROTTET es autor de cinco libros: Off the Deep End, Pagan Holiday, The Naked Olympics: 2500 años de historia al desnudo y The Sinners Grand Tour. Sus relatos de viajes se han traducido a una docena de idiomas y han aparecido en diversas antologías, además de haber sido seleccionados en siete o más ocasiones para el premio Best American Travel Writing. Aparece con regularidad como invitado en programas de televisión de The History Channel y colabora en la revista Smithsonian. Vive en Nueva York.&nbsp;

Cuba libre ¡Cuba libre! (Spanish edition): El Che, Fidel y la improbable revolución que cambió la historia del mundo

HarperCollins Espanol

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