Villains, scoundrels, and rogues : incredible true tales of mischief and mayhem

Villains, scoundrels, and rogues Incredible true tales of mischief and mayhem

Paul D. Martin, 1946-

Book - 2014

"Everyone loves a good villain! From the back pages of history, vivid, entertaining portraits of little-known scoundrels whose misdeeds range from the simply inept to the truly horrifying. Even if you're an avid history buff, you've probably never heard of this disreputable cast of characters: A drunken, ne'er-do-well cop who abandoned his post at Ford's Theatre, giving assassin John Wilkes Booth unchallenged access to President Lincoln; a notorious Kansas quack who made millions by implanting billy goat testicles in gullible male patients; and America's worst female serial killer ever. These are three of the memorable but little-known rogues profiled in this eye-opening and entertaining book. Dividing his prof...iles into three categories--villains, scoundrels, and rogues--author and former National Geographic editor Paul Martin serves up concise, colorful biographies of thirty of America's most outrageous characters. Whether readers choose to be horrified by the story of Ed Gein, Alfred Hitchcock's hideous inspiration for Psycho, or marvel at the clever duplicity of the con artist who originated the phony bookie operation portrayed in The Sting, there's something here for everyone. Brimming with audacious, unforgettable characters often overlooked by standard history books, this page-turner is a must for anyone with an interest in the varieties of human misbehavior"--

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Subjects
Criminals > Case studies.
Rogues and vagabonds.
Outlaws.
Immorality.
United States > Civilization.
Published
Amherst, New York : Prometheus Books 2014.
Language
English
Main Author
Paul D. Martin, 1946- (-)
Physical Description
304 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-285) and index.
ISBN
9781616149277
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • Villains
  • 1. Merchant of Misery
  • 2. The Cutthroat Captain of Cave-In-Rock
  • 3. Architect of a Tragedy
  • 4. The Late, Unlamented Little Pete
  • 5. The Killer They Called Hell's Belle
  • 6. Partners in Perfidy
  • 7. Chicago's Florist-Mobster
  • 8. A HucksterÆs Rise and Fall
  • 9. Hitchcock's Hideous Inspiration
  • Scoundrels
  • 10. Salem's Rabid Witch-Hunter
  • 11. Uncle Daniel the "Speckerlator"
  • 12. Unleashing the James-Younger Gang
  • 13. Lincoln's Missing Bodyguard
  • 14. Squirrel Tooth Alice
  • 15. The Lawman Who Went Bad
  • 16. The Very Mellow Yellow Kid
  • 17. You Bet Your Life
  • 18. Keeper of the Immaculate Sperm
  • 19. The Silken Voice of Treachery
  • Rogues
  • 20. Who's That Rapping on My Floor?
  • 21. The Witch of Wall Street
  • 22. King of the Cannibal Islands
  • 23. Master Salesman of a Dubious Legend
  • 24. The Consummate Gold Digger
  • 25. The Mad, Sad Poet of Greenwich Village
  • 26. The Bifurcated Congressman
  • 27. The Frugal Counterfeiter
  • 28. Imperfect Pitch
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Illustration Credits
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

This collection of exceptionally well-crafted historical portraits deals, in descending order, with monsters, the merely evil, and the unscrupulous. The first include such people as the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company and serial murderer Ed Gein. The second includes Old West adventuress Squirrel Tooth Annie, the journalist who puffed up Robert Peary's claim to have reached the North Pole, and a doctor who lent himself to the American eugenics movement. The last category includes a number of the merely fraudulent as well as a charming old gentleman who counterfeited one-dollar bills to keep himself in pocket change. Apart from his literate writing, Martin also has the knack for passing harsh judgments when they are deserved and also withholding them when they are not. A model of how to write short popular history.--Green, Roland Copyright 2014 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Former National Geographic editor Martin delivers the reverse of his Secret Heroes, highlighting Americans who have negatively impacted society in a variety of stomach-churning ways. He sets the tone with his profile of the rapacious Rhode Island slave trader James DeWolf, whose considerable wealth is something with which his heirs continue to struggle, and Samuel Mason, a vicious pirate captain who terrorized travelers along the Ohio River in the early 1800s. There's also Belle Sorensen Gunness, the icy Norwegian immigrant who "is believed to have slain over 40 people, including her two husbands and all seven of her children"; Charles Davenport, who campaigned for racial purity and helped popularize eugenics; and the notorious Ed Gein, the reclusive Wisconsin serial killer who was the inspiration for several movie murderers. Martin's rich and varied portraits display misbehavior, from simple idiocy and apathy to conniving con men, gold diggers, and gamblers. He also includes inveterate hucksters like Don Lapre, the late-night TV pitchman whose infomercials and Ponzi schemes yielded a tidy sum he eventually lost (along with his life; he committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial). They make a pretty reprehensible bunch, but Martin puts their crimes in context while keeping the book entertaining and informative. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

A collection of 30 portraits of "bad guys" throughout American history, this book covers a range of badness from horrifically evil to momentary lapses into wrongdoing that had lasting negative impact. While a few characters are well known, such as Ed Gein, the role model for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, most are forgotten figures of the past. The cast includes slave traders, pirates, murderers, swindlers, lawmen gone vicious, crooked politicians, hucksters, prostitutes, gold diggers, and many more. This work is the inverse of Martin's (former editor, National Geographic; Secret Heroes) previous book which covered lesser-known "good guys" throughout American history and their positive impacts. Well-researched and engagingly told with rich detail, each portrait reads like fiction and includes a photograph or other image of the subject. The characters are colorful, brazen, and unforgettable; their stories disturbing, yet enthralling. Martin's goal is not to be a moralist, but rather to provide entertaining accounts about America's ne'er-do-wells. VERDICT This book proves the adage that it is often more fun to read about evil than good and is appropriate for history buffs, fans of American history, and anyone who likes engaging tales about mayhem and mischief.-Leslie Lewis, Duquesne Univ. Lib., Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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