Free Monsters: History's Most Evil Men And Women Ebooks To Download
The preferred method of torture of Vlad Dracul, 15th-century prince of Wallachia, was to attach a horse to each of the victim's legs as a sharpened stake was gradually forced into his body; Vlad also enjoyed scalping, skinning and boiling alive. The 14th-century Mongol warlord Tamerlane once ordered the building of a pyramid of 70,000 human skulls from those that his army had beheaded...In 101 World Heroes Simon Sebag Montefiore selected his ultimate heroes and heroines. Now he offers his readers the other - darker - side of the coin. Monsters presents, in chronological order, grimly fascinating profiles of 101 notorious and profoundly sinister individuals whose actions have one thing in common - they have had a baleful and blood-soaked impact on the annals of world history. From Attila the Hun to Basil the Bulgar Slayer, from Pedro the Cruel to Ivan the Terrible, and from Richard III to Saddam Hussein, Monsters is a devilishly compelling gallery of history's greatest ghouls, including: Caligula, Richard III, Adolf Eichmann, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Charles Manson, Herman Cortes, Adolf Hitler, Al Capone, Laventi Beria, Lucrezia Borgia, Nicolae Ceausescu, Vlad the Impaler, Saddam Hussein, Simon de Montfort, Pablo Escobar, Ivan the Terrible, Genghis Khan, Idi Amin, Attila, Josef Mengele, Heinrich Himmler, Mao Zedong, Osama bin Laden, Kim Il Sung, Slobodan Milosevic, Empress Cixi, Tomas de Torquemeda.
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Quercus Publishing (August 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1847249515
ISBN-13: 978-1847249517
Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1.1 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #875,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #352 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Reference & Collections #208049 in Books > Reference
I found this in the bargain bin at a used bookstore and the only reason I picked it up was because I had enjoyed reading Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by the same author. Though familiar with many of the individuals listed in this book, I found myself engrossed in reading about many other unfamiliar names, and ultimately found this to be an informative and interesting read.As the title indicates, this book describes the notoriety of 101 individuals deemed 'monsters' for their inhuman acts, not only towards their enemies, but in some instances, their own people (Stalin comes vividly to mind here, having decimated millions of Russians; Chairman Mao; Pol Pot, etc) and even their own children. The book is filled with vivid illustrations (in B&W and color), lots of quotations, and gripping (at times stomach churning) accounts of sadism, perversion, and cruelty by some of the most infamous personalities in history. Interspersed between the familiar names such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, etc. are less familiar names (but no less evil) such as Lavrenti Beria, Stalin's secret police chief who had a voracious and unhealthy sexual appetite; the emperor Caracalla; Sargon of Akkad; and, the Sheikh of Alamut, amongst many others. There's an index at the end for easy reference. I'd recommend this to anyone who has an interest in history.
This book was received in excellent condition with no markings. The primary author is a great historian who I have followed several years. Monsters meets his high standard. This is an entertaining read with some very distinctive points of view.
This book combined 2 things that fascinate me history and evil and cruel people. I honestly have a new found loathing for the human race after reading this, this just adds to my despisement of authority. I'm gonna have to read the companion book "Heroes" just to balance it out. Who was the most evil person in the book how do you rate evil: by the number of human deaths caused by said person or the cruelty of the deeds themselves? Hard to say I think mr Hitler was always going to be the major heavyweight of this book but Vlad the Impaler was shocking as well. This is what happens if say Ted Bundy became Prince of a european country he was a total psychopath! Also Stalin and his evil cronie Beria were basically just murderous criminals if Al Capone had become president of USA in the 1930s you would have seen similar crimes there. Some of the people in the book weren't really that bad at all i think they just found their way into the book through notoriety such as Jezebel and Lucrezia Borgia. I do think the author has a very biased western tone throughout the book though, although i do agree with his sentiments.
interesting and thought provoking
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