Tony Perrottet > Quotes

“Whenever anyone tells me that history's boring, I bring up Napoleon's penis.”
― Tony Perrottet

“Whenever someone implies that history is boring, I bring up Napoleon's penis.”
― Tony Perrottet, Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped – Offbeat and Shocking Anecdotes About Famous Figures Guaranteed to Enliven Any Dinner Party

“It was an excellent place to be if you wanted to hear crowds of wretched philosophers heaping abuse on one another—an endless number of historians reading out their imbecilic writings—innumerable poets reciting their drivel to the wild applause of other poets—gaggles of magicians showing their tricks—throngs of fortune-tellers telling fortunes—countless lawyers perverting justice—or armies of peddlers hawking whatever rubbish came to hand. . . . —DIO THE GOLDEN-TONGUED, C. A.D. 100 ONCE”
― Tony Perrottet, The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games

“There would have been no need for Fidel to start a revolution in the first place. It’s a dismal pattern that has been repeated over and over again in the decades since Batista fled, with the United States propping up a string of appalling dictators in Iran, Vietnam, Chile, and Panama, to name a few. The tragedy is that it has almost always led to disastrous results. By betraying its own principles, the United States has also managed to defeat its most basic strategic goals.”
― Tony Perrottet, Cuba Libre!: Che, Fidel, and the Improbable Revolution That Changed World History