Synopses & Reviews
History is about much more than dusty books, dreary dates, and long-forgotten battles. History is also about sex appeal! Historical Heartthrobs compiles photos and life stories of 50 of the sexiest men and women from history and asks the essential question: Would you really want to date them? Consider George Sand, for instance. She was the hottest thing in pants in nineteenth-century France, but would you really want to put up with all that smoking? Or what about Nikola Tesla? His utter brilliance made Victorians swoon, but he seemed incapable of swooning back. Would you endure his indifference in return for that incredible smile? Each entry in Historical Heartthrobs includes a full-page photo, contemporary quotes, and an in-depth explanation of who these people were, why they mattered, and how they managed to be so seductive. Entries also include: Vital stats about the hottie's place of birth, lifespan, and major areas of influence. The inside scoop on peccadilloes, noteworthy liaisons, and long-standing relationships. An overall heat reading that factors in sex appeal, charisma, accomplishments, and of course, moral virtue. (Points are docked for brutality and rudeness!) Everyone included here made their mark on the worldand#8212;but not everyone did so in an equally admirable fashion. John Wilkes Booth was definitely good-looking, but racist assassins don't generally make for the best life partners. Nellie Bly, on the other hand, did more in her average year than most people do in a lifetimeand#8212;and she happened to look like a model, too. So review their records, check out their photos, and choose the hottie who makes you swoon.
Review
and#8220;A fun book for any reader, with a balanced mix of historical anecdotes, romantic trivia, and witty, accessible writing.and#8221; -ForeWord Reviews and#160; and#8220;(A) broad-ranging, tongue-in-cheek guide to the hotties of historyand#8230;.With engrossing photos, lively quotations, and witty writing, itand#8217;s and#8220;the complete packageand#8221;and#8212;just like Nellie Bly.and#8221; -Publishers Weekly and#160; and#8220;Surely a tantalizing start for a beginning researcher.and#8221; -Booklist
Synopsis
From the author of our popular Secret Lives of the U.S Presidents comes another rambunctious look at White House history--and this time, women are in the spotlight. Secret lives of the First Ladies features outrageous and uncensored profiles of all the presidents' wives. You'll discover that Dolley Madison loved to chew tobacco, Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to an asylum, and Mamie Eisenhower never missed an episode of As the World Turns. You'll also learn why hillary Clinton went to work for Wal-Mart (long before she started campaigning for a higher minimum wage). Complete with biographics of every first lady, Secret Lives of the First ladies tackles tough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: How many of these women owned slaves? Which ones were cheating on their husbands? And why did Eleanor Roosevelt serve hot dogs to the King and Queen of England? American history was never this much fun
Synopsis
Scandals, Seduction, Addiction, Adultery, Horrific Fashions—And the White House?!?
Your high school history teachers never gave you a book like this one! Secret Lives of the First Ladies features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the women of the White House—complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You’ll discover that:
• Dolley Madison loved to chew tobacco
• Mary Todd Lincoln conducted séances on a regular basis
• Eleanor Roosevelt and Ellen Wilson both carried guns
• Jacqueline Kennedy spent $121,000 on her wardrobe in a single year
• Betty Ford liked to chat on CB radios—her handle was “First Mama”
• Hillary Clinton dreamed of being an astronaut
• And much, much more
With chapters on every woman who’s ever made it to the White House, Secret Lives of the First Ladies tackles all of the tough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: How many of these women owned slaves? Which ones were cheating on their husbands? And why was Eleanor Roosevelt serving hot dogs to the King and Queen of England? American history was never this much fun in school!
Synopsis
This book compiles photos and life stories ofand#160;fifty of the sexiest men and women from history and asks the essential question: Would you really want to date them? Some are artists, some are scientists, and many are political or military leaders, but all have had a lasting impact on human lifeand#8212;and a sizable impact on their admirers as well. Each entry describes the period in which the heartthrob lived and includes essential stats, hilarious sidebars, and, of course, a and#8220;crushabilityand#8221; ranking: a measurement of how crush-worthy these people really are, based on their relative levels of heroism (or villainy).
About the Author
Hallie Fryd is a writer living in Oakland, California. She studied history at Carnegie Mellon University and writes frequently about history and pop culture. She grew up in a Quaker suburb of Philadelphia, but dislikes weatherandmdash;which brought her to the temperate climate of the San Francisco Bay Area. When not writing, or trying to recount historical episodes with wild gesticulations, she works as a social media manager for the brain training company, Lumosity. Hallie is the author ofandnbsp;Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About, which was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Foreword Reviews Gold Medal Book of the Year Winner in 2012.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................10
1. Cleopatraand#160; (70/69 BCEand#8211;30 BCE)...................12
2. Benjamin Franklin (1706and#8211;1790)................16
3. Marie Antoinette (1755and#8211;1793)...................20
4. Lord Byron (1788and#8211;1824)............................24
5. George Sand (1804and#8211;1876)..........................28
6. Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811and#8211;1896).........32
7. Ada Lovelace (1815and#8211;1852)..........................36
8. Frederick Douglass (1818and#8211;1895)...............40
9. Wild Bill Hickok (1837and#8211;1876)....................44
10. John Wilkes Booth (1838and#8211;1865)..............48
11. Nikola Tesla (1856and#8211;1943)..........................52
12. Teddy Roosevelt (1858and#8211;1919)..................56
13. Annie Oakley (1860and#8211;1926).......................60
14. Nellie Bly (1864and#8211;1922)..............................64
15. W.E.B. DuBoisand#160;(1868and#8211;1963)....................68
16. Czarina Alexandra (1872and#8211;1918)..............72
17. Harry Houdiniand#160;(1874and#8211;1926).....................76
18. Mata Hari (1876and#8211;1917).............................80
19. Isadora Duncan (1877and#8211;1927)...................84
20. Mustafa Kemal Atatand#252;rk r (1881and#8211;1938)..... 88
21. Pablo Picasso (1881and#8211;1973).......................92
22. Coco Chanel (1883and#8211;1971).......................96
23. T.E. Lawrence (1888and#8211;1935).................. 100
24. Jim Thorpe (1887and#8211;1953).......................104
25. Duke Kahanamoku (1890and#8211;1968)........... 108
26. Bessie Coleman (1892and#8211;1926) ...............112
27. Dorothy Parker (1893and#8211;1967).................116
28. Amelia Earhart (1897and#8211;1937)................120
29. Ernest Hemingway (1899and#8211;1961)..........124
30. Leni Riefenstahl (1902and#8211;2003)..............128
31. Salvador Daland#237; (1904and#8211;1989).....................132
32. Bugsy Siegel (1906and#8211;1947).....................136
33. Josephine Baker (1906and#8211;1975)...............140
34. Frida Kahlo (1907and#8211;1954).......................144
35. Carmen Miranda (1909and#8211;1955)..............148
36. Albert Camus (1913and#8211;1960)...................152
37. Eddie Chapman (1914and#8211;1997)................156
38. Maya Deren (1917and#8211;1961)......................160
39. Eva Perand#243;n (1919and#8211;1952)..........................164
40. Helen Gurley Brown (1922and#8211;2012)........168
41. Fidel Castro (1926and#8211;)...............................172
42. Cesar Chand#225;vez (1927and#8211;1993)....................176
43. Che Guevara (1928and#8211;1967)....................180
44. Sylvia Plath (1932and#8211;1963).......................184
45. Gloria Steinem (1934and#8211;).........................188
46. Jane Goodall (1934and#8211;)............................192
47. Roberto Clemente (1934and#8211;1972)............196
48. Bruce Lee (1940and#8211;1973)..........................200
49. Huey P. Newton (1942and#8211;1989)................204
50. Benazir Bhutto (1953and#8211;2007).................208
Further Reading......................................212
INDEX...............................................................214