English Summary/英文概要： One of the most basic--and ancient--forms of birth control is the condom. Utilized by all cultures for millennia, and referred to by many colorful euphemisms--baudruche, preservativo, machine, peau divine, rubber, and safety--it has featured in the lives, loves, and letters of some of the most famous men in history. Shakespeare, Casanova, George Bernard Shaw, to mention only a few, all appreciated and wrote about the importance of using "preventatives."
Aine Collier provides a unique glimpse into human sexual habits, customs, beliefs, and attitudes in this first history of the prophylactic device that goes back to at least the ancient Egyptians. As she amply demonstrates, the story of this humble piece of paraphernalia is full of intriguing insights into human character with all its flaws and foibles as well as many fascinating historical details:
· Clergymen of the Middle Ages have left records of birth control methods, including condoms, documenting just "what worked."
· The modern history of the condom begins when Columbus’s men returned from the New World infected with the "Great Pox" (syphilis). This led to the rediscovery of the condom as a disease preventative
· Sixteenth-century Italian anatomist Gabriello Fallopio (discoverer of the Fallopian tube) should be considered the father of the modern condom; he was the first to add a pink ribbon to his sheaths, a flourish that remained standard for centuries.
· When women had few choices in the world of commerce, a significant number found a legitimate and profitable business niche producing and selling sheaths.
· During the Great Depression, while other businesses went bankrupt, condom manufacturers found themselves doing a booming trade throughout the 1930s, one of Wall Street’s few successes. Sadly, it was cheaper to pay 25 cents for a rubber than to have children.
· German gummis were acknowledged to be the finest in the world, until the Nazis made them illegal, fearing Jewish doctors had coerced innocent young Germans into using them as birth control.
· AIDS has brought the condom full circle. Not for the first time in history has the little device been vilified as a promoter of dirty, illicit sex and lauded as a life-saving device.
Thoroughly researched yet presented in a witty, enjoyable style that will keep you turning the page for more, The Humble Little Condom is both an entertaining read and an educational, impeccably researched popular history.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 保險套: 改變人類歷史的小東西---它又是怎麼樣影響整個人類史呢?

人類最古老的避孕措施就是使用保險套。幾千年來一直沿用，還被當作是各種詞的委婉說法。它在人類生活、性愛以及歷史上一些重要的人的信件都佔有特殊的地位。莎士比亞（Shakespeare）、卡薩諾瓦（Casanova）、蕭伯納（George Bernard Shaw）全認為“安全措施”很重要。
艾恩·寇里爾（Aine Collier）用獨特的視角探討了人類至少在古埃及時期，就有在使用安全措施的習慣、風俗、信仰以及態度。隨著她的逐步擴大表述，這項關於安全的歷史，便慢慢混入人類的優劣性格以及許多引人入勝的歷史細節。
-中世紀的神職人員留下了許多控制人口的記錄，包括保險套，還詳細記載著如何奏效
-現代保險套的歷史起源于哥倫布之隨行感染了梅毒從新大陸回來。這導致了保險套作為防止疾病入侵的工具。
-16世紀義大利解剖學家加比埃爾·法羅比歐（Gabriello Fallopio）堪稱現代保險套之父。他是第一個在保險套上加一根粉絲帶的人，此後幾世紀一直沿用。
-女人在商業世界中沒有選擇，非婚生子女直線上升，使得製作和賣保險套成為一項收獲頗豐的暴利行業。
-大蕭條時期，許多其他行業倒閉，而保險套製造反而在20世紀30年代生育高峰時獨佔鰲頭脫穎而出，成為少數華爾街成功實例。可悲的是，花25美分買一個橡膠套還比生一個孩子便宜得多。
-德國橡膠的品質一向被認為是世上最好的，但納粹卻將之看作非法勾當。因為擔心猶太人醫生會哄騙無知的德國年輕人使用，來影響德國人口。
-愛滋病的出現使得保險套面臨全盛時期，一個小小的橡膠產品史無前例地被看做是解救生命的工具。
作者經過全面審慎的研究，配以詼諧幽默的文風，讓你不知不覺情不自禁看下去，本書寓教於樂，完美地呈現了它的歷史。(XJJ & SK)

Awards/获奖情况： "This book has it all - sex, money, infidelity, war, poetry, the famous and the infamous, politics, hypocrisy. What a read!... Although there are plenty of laughs, this is a serious history, and one that was hard to put down. I had no idea the condom had such a long and complex story."---FREDERICK GOTTLIEB, MD, MPH (“這本書網羅所有層面-性愛、金錢、忠誠、戰爭、詩歌、聲名或臭名遠播、政治、偽善。…包羅萬象！雖然故事幽默，但這仍是個嚴肅的者主題，讓人想一口氣讀完它。我從來不曉得保險套還有這麼長這麼複雜的故事。”---弗德瑞可·哥特里布)