The past comes alive in Paul Martin‘s compilation of villains, scoundrels and rogues from history.
Although many of these people were famous in their own time, they’ve largely slipped into the shadows for most modern readers. … What makes these figures worthy of note is that their life stories all read like fiction. From the introduction.
And they really do. From the truly terrible like serial killers, including one who wore a suit made of human skin, to the less terrible like fraudsters and a counterfeiter of one dollar bills, these are people who made their mark on history in one way or another.
I find this kind of non-fiction read absolutely fascinating. It makes me wonder, these are the stories that almost slipped through the cracks. How many note-worthy people have been completely forgotten?
I have a small quibble about how this book was organized. Martin takes the reader from the awful to less-awful, which seems anticlimactic. Shouldn’t it have gone the other way?
Also, Martin editorializes somewhat at the end of each chapter, so if you’re looking for just history and no opinions, this might not work for you.
With those few reservations, I’d recommend this for readers looking to expand their trivia knowledge and for fans of history. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for reading!
- The Ballad of a Small Player: a Metaphysical Movie Review
- Otherwhere: A Field Guide to Nonphysical Reality for the Out-Of-Body Traveler by Kurt Leland
- Psychic Dreamwalking: Explorations at the Edge of Self by Michelle Belanger
- Archetypes on the Tree of Life: The Tarot as Pathwork by Madonna Compton
- The Goddess and the Shaman: The Art & Science of Magical Healing by J.A. Kent
The Help Desk Book Blog 