What We Did in Bed: A Horizontal History

If you thought that your bed was only good for sleeping in, having sex in, or dying in, then this book will disabuse you--in fact, its so entertaining, it will keep you awake long into the night.--Paul Chrystal, author of In Bed with the Ancient Greeks and In Bed with the Romans

Louis XIV ruled France from his bedchamber. Winston Churchill governed Britain from his during World War II. Travelers routinely used to bed down with complete strangers, and whole families shared beds in many preindustrial households. Beds were expensive items--and often for show. Tutankhamun was buried on a golden bed, wealthy Greeks were sent to the afterlife on dining beds, and deceased middle-class Victorians were propped up on a bed in the parlor.