In these wide-ranging comic essays, Evany explores numerous historical events and personalities that have had a personal impact on her as she attempts to understand why they've been the object of such fascination, from her unnatural obsession with Napoleon, to her misguided understanding of the Royal Family, to her intrigue over America's dumpiest presidents. Evany's approach to history is to make it personal, which any good historian will tell you is exactly what not to do; but in doing so, she rescues history from the dusty confines of 'intellectually aggressive' men and makes it fun again.