Louis XIV ruled France from his bedchamber. Winston Churchill governed Britain from his during World War II. Travelers used to bed down with complete strangers, and whole families shared beds in many preindustrial households. Beds were expensive items—and often for show. In this sweeping social history that spans seventy thousand years, Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani look at the varied role of the bed through time. It is only in the modern era that the bed has become a private zone—and its rich social history has largely been forgotten.