-
Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep and Stalin Robbed a Bank
- History's Unknown Chapters
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep and Stalin Robbed a Bank, the second installment in his outrageously entertaining series, History's Unknown Chapters, Giles Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from history, like when Stalin was actually assassinated with poison by one of his inner circle; the Russian scientist, dubbed the "Red Frankenstein", who attempted to produce a human-ape hybrid through ethically dubious means; and much more.
-
-
Great Trivia Source
- By Jean on 11-14-16
By: Giles Milton
-
When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain
- History's Unknown Chapters
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first installment in Giles Milton's outrageously entertaining series, History's Unknown Chapters: colorful and accessible, intelligent and illuminating, Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from the past. There's the cook aboard the Titanic who pickled himself with whiskey and survived in the icy seas where most everyone else died. There's the man who survived the atomic bombs in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And there are many, many more.
-
-
Quite entertaining
- By Gunther on 08-05-16
By: Giles Milton
-
The Icepick Surgeon
- Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn’t everything, it’s the only thing—no matter the cost. Bestselling author Sam Kean tells the true story of what happens when unfettered ambition pushes otherwise rational men and women to cross the line in the name of science, trampling ethical boundaries and often committing crimes in the process.
-
-
FANTASTIC! & What’s up with all these naysayers (negative reviewers)?!
- By H. Zophie Leslea on 08-19-21
By: Sam Kean
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
New Spring
- The Wheel of Time Prequel
- By: Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
-
-
Read it after reading others in the series
- By Stacy Fair on 12-13-07
By: Robert Jordan
-
Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
-
Unexpected Findings in a Quality Bryson Book
- By Crystal on 02-24-13
By: Bill Bryson
-
When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep and Stalin Robbed a Bank
- History's Unknown Chapters
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In When Churchill Slaughtered Sheep and Stalin Robbed a Bank, the second installment in his outrageously entertaining series, History's Unknown Chapters, Giles Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from history, like when Stalin was actually assassinated with poison by one of his inner circle; the Russian scientist, dubbed the "Red Frankenstein", who attempted to produce a human-ape hybrid through ethically dubious means; and much more.
-
-
Great Trivia Source
- By Jean on 11-14-16
By: Giles Milton
-
When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain
- History's Unknown Chapters
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first installment in Giles Milton's outrageously entertaining series, History's Unknown Chapters: colorful and accessible, intelligent and illuminating, Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from the past. There's the cook aboard the Titanic who pickled himself with whiskey and survived in the icy seas where most everyone else died. There's the man who survived the atomic bombs in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And there are many, many more.
-
-
Quite entertaining
- By Gunther on 08-05-16
By: Giles Milton
-
The Icepick Surgeon
- Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn’t everything, it’s the only thing—no matter the cost. Bestselling author Sam Kean tells the true story of what happens when unfettered ambition pushes otherwise rational men and women to cross the line in the name of science, trampling ethical boundaries and often committing crimes in the process.
-
-
FANTASTIC! & What’s up with all these naysayers (negative reviewers)?!
- By H. Zophie Leslea on 08-19-21
By: Sam Kean
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
New Spring
- The Wheel of Time Prequel
- By: Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
-
-
Read it after reading others in the series
- By Stacy Fair on 12-13-07
By: Robert Jordan
-
Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
-
Unexpected Findings in a Quality Bryson Book
- By Crystal on 02-24-13
By: Bill Bryson
-
Timeline
- A Novel
- By: Michael Crichton
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Modern science meets feudal France...dinosaurs still walk the Earth...a secret world of killer gorillas...only in a Michael Crichton thriller! Check out our full selection in our Crichton store!
-
-
Only get this recording if you find an unwavering backdrop of "tv static" and chatting technicians to be in anyway desirable.
- By Mega on 03-10-17
By: Michael Crichton
-
Who Ate the First Oyster?
- The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History
- By: Cody Cassidy
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? Who invented soap? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations. With a sharp sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of our ancient ancestors, Who Ate the First Oyster? profiles the perpetrators of the greatest firsts and catastrophes of prehistory.
-
-
It could be better...
- By Alex on 04-06-21
By: Cody Cassidy
-
Death in Yellowstone
- Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park
- By: Lee H. Whittlesey
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The chilling tome that launched an entire genre of books about the often gruesome, but always tragic ways people have died in our national parks, this updated edition of the classic includes calamities in Yellowstone from the past 16 years, including the infamous grizzly bear attacks in the summer of 2011, as well as a fatal hot springs accident in 2000. Armchair travelers and park visitors alike will be fascinated by this important book detailing the dangers awaiting in our first national park.
-
-
Heading to Yellowstone?
- By Pamela on 04-26-17
-
The Silk Roads
- A New History of the World
- By: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century - this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.
-
-
An Absolutely SUPERB Book for Lovers of History
- By Dipam on 06-27-21
By: Peter Frankopan
-
One Summer
- America, 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
-
-
Why 1927?
- By Mark on 10-18-13
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons
- The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early studies of the human brain used a simple method: Wait for misfortune to strike - strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, horrendous accidents - and see how victims coped. In many cases their survival was miraculous, if puzzling. Observers were amazed by the transformations that took place when different parts of the brain were destroyed, altering victims' personalities. With the lucid, masterful explanations and razor-sharp wit his fans have come to expect, Kean explores the brain's secret passageways.
-
-
Detailed but not overly Technical
- By Michael on 05-06-15
By: Sam Kean
-
Quackery
- A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything
- By: Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What won't we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth? Well, just imagine a time when doctors prescribed morphine for crying infants. When liquefied gold was touted as immortality in a glass. And when strychnine - yes, that strychnine, the one used in rat poison - was dosed like Viagra. Looking back with fascination, horror, and not a little dash of dark, knowing humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices.
-
-
Comprehensive is an understatement
- By Amber on 11-08-18
By: Lydia Kang, and others
-
Fire & Blood (HBO Tie-in Edition)
- 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones
- By: George R. R. Martin
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 26 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen - the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria - took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.
-
-
Reviews from fanboys misleading.
- By Dude on 05-15-19
-
The Last Protector
- Clayton White, Book 1
- By: Simon Gervais
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former air force combat rescue officer Special Agent Clayton White now works for the Secret Service performing routine escort missions for politicians. These missions may not be quite as exciting as his time in the military, but Clayton’s okay with that. It gives him more time to see his girlfriend, Veronica Hammond—an archaeologist who also happens to be the vice president elect’s daughter. But Clayton’s seemingly manageable new routine takes a startling turn when South African mercenaries target Veronica at an awards gala celebrating her work.
-
-
Language!!!
- By Glenn on 12-28-21
By: Simon Gervais
-
Elantris
- Tenth Anniversary Special Edition
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 28 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad listeners who have since become Sanderson fans.
-
-
Great characters, engaging story, satisfying end
- By Heather Schnegelberger on 08-02-16
-
Old Man's War
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First, he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce - and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So, we fight, to defend Earth and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
-
-
Fun and Witty Military Sci-Fi
- By M. Spencer on 10-21-12
By: John Scalzi
-
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
- By: Claire North
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes. Until now. As Harry nears the end of his 11th life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August", she says. "I need to send a message". This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.
-
-
Amazing
- By clifford on 11-12-15
By: Claire North
Publisher's Summary
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.
More from the same
What listeners say about Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Concerned_llama
- 12-11-20
They just throw the facts too fast
I was listening to this audiobook, but you need to be keeping attention very closely, because they jump stories really really fast, and sometimes I wish they could have elaborated the stories a little more.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Reece Novack-Wilson
- 11-24-20
Very choppy
The stories have no sense of continuity to them. if they were grouped into timeframes within the chapters, or had a better flow in between them, the info would be a lot easier to retain.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paige
- 08-09-18
It is apparently impossible to pronounce “Dalek”.
There is no excuse to mispronounce “Dalek”. Otherwise, the book was fine. It was sort of a marathon of factoids & historical anecdotes.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jason
- 03-21-13
Very,very,very Interesting!
The backstory & minute details will hold your attention! I flew through this one. Didn't know where the time went. If you're a history buff like me, you won't be able to put this one down. I found myself laughing out loud more than once!!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ronda
- 09-28-20
Interesting but....
Narrator reads it like a laundry list. The facts are interesting but the narration was awful.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patricia
- 04-02-21
Very interesting!
I enjoyed learning so many fun facts while listening to this book. I wish the narrator would have paused for a few seconds between stories.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous
- 01-25-21
Great Book but please Slow Down!!!
I found this to be a most interesting book of historical tidbits but the reader.....needs to BREATHE between topics! The flow of speech was almost continuous, moving from one topic to another within the chapter without any noticeable pauses or breaks in speech. Maybe it is how it was edited but this uninterrupted flow causes confusion for the listener when the topic changes radically with the next sentence.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- PammieJR
- 05-12-21
British Book read by an American
This book was written by a British gentleman, but it is read by an American. I am going to assume this was a change made for the American audience?!
This is not the first book I have run across to do this…it can be ok…but the incorrect pronunciations of a lot of proper names might drive you insane. [Example: if you are a Doctor Who fan, the pronunciation of “Dalek” will shred your soul.]
Also, I question the validity of a number of American “facts,” especially the one insinuating that the only reason George Washington didn’t want to create a dictatorship/monarchy was because he did not have any natural born children. Um, no…
Anyway…some are fun, some are weird and some are horrifying…take the facts with a grain of salt!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Daniel
- 05-28-21
Good narration, but an odd choice
The book was pretty good if a little disjointed. But the choice of narrator was very strange. The author is obviously British because the facts in this book are often UK-centric, to a surprising degree. It would have benefitted from a British narrator or at the very least, a British producer who could pick up on the many mispronunciations by the narrator. I cringed so many times at poorly pronounced place names and names of famous people from UK history. I still marked the performance good, because I lay a lot of that blame at the feet of the producer. A good audiobook producer would be on top of something like that. Who doesn't know how to pronounce Dalek?!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KellysHero718
- 12-18-20
Wildly Diverse and Unceasingly Entertaining
A close to nonstop listen, the facts just keep rolling in. Most are quick but many go into more detail. Except for the overlong list of British athletes who hurt themselves in common ways, the narration never ceases to satisfy.
1 person found this helpful