Napoleon's Glands and Other Ventures in Biohistory

by Arno Karlen

Employing a new method of examining our past which integrates medical, behavioral, and environmental sciences, the author journeys through biohistory to question the physical forces influencing celebrated people and phenomena of history

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biology, Science

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Adam Foster · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of the book was interesting, the last half much less so.

[A. Hominid · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting book. It poses the very important question in historiography of: to what extent are historical events influenced/impacted/caused by viruses, pandemics, and human physical infirmities and debilities. Hence the title. But this theme wanes as the book progresses. The chapter on Napoleon is on point, but the chapters on Goya and Poe, while still interesting, less so. A chapter on sexology is out of place. I did enjoy Karlen shredding psychoanalytic historians for their wild and speculative theories. The remainder of the book is a recapitulation of the application of new technes to the study of history (e.g., genetic analysis). This book may have been cutting-edge at the time this book was published, but the application of science and techne to archaeology and history has long since become common course. Karlen rather overindulges in the impact that epidemics have on history. For example, he argues the plague of Athens brought about Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War. This is a far-fetched claim for a war that lasted a quarter century.
Aside from this, the writing is thoughtful and spritely, though marred by Americanisms (e.g., "gotta") here and there.