Paul Martin. (2014). Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues: Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem. Prometheus.

Paul Martin. 2014. Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues: Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem. Prometheus.

Paul Martin, Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues: Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem. Prometheus, 2014.

Paul Martin. Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues: Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem. Prometheus, 2014.

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Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues

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Villains Scoundrels and Rogues Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem

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Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem

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1. • value: True Crime
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creators

1. • role: Author
   • fileAs: Martin, Paul
   • bioText:

     Paul Martin, who spent more than thirty years with the National Geographic Society as an editor and writer, is the author of Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World (William Morrow, 2012); Land of the Ascending Dragon: Rediscovering Vietnam (Gates & Bridges, 1997); two other nonfiction books and more than a hundred articles.

   • name: Paul Martin

publishDate

2014-03-04T00:00:00-05:00

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title

Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues

fullDescription

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 profiles 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.

reviews

1. • premium: False
   • source: Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
   • content:

     "Martin's rich and varied portraits display misbehavior, from simple idiocy and apathy to conniving con men, gold diggers, and gamblers.... They make a pretty reprehensible bunch, but Martin puts their crimes in context while keeping the book entertaining and informative."

2. • premium: False
   • source: Booklist
   • content: "This collection of exceptionally well-crafted historical portraits deals, in descending order, with monsters, the merely evil, and the unscrupulous.... 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."
3. • premium: False
   • source: Booklist
   • content: "Will surprise and, perhaps, inspire readers."
4. • premium: False
   • source: Publishers Weekly
   • content: "Self-sacrifice and determination abound in the tales....Meticulously researched, Martin holds his subjects in deserved high-esteem."
5. • premium: False
   • source: Kirkus Reviews
   • content: "Reverent character sketches of some unusually self-reliant Americans....Inspirational yarns of exceptional folks who made a difference...surprisingly entertaining."
6. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     Starred review from December 16, 2013
     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.

7. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     June 1, 2014
     

     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

     Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

8. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     February 1, 2014
     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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

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shortDescription

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 profiles 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...

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Villains Scoundrels and Rogues Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem

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Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem

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tableOfContents

CAST OF CHARACTERS
VILLAINS:
Merchant of Misery—James DeWolf
The Cutthroat Captain of Cave-In-Rock—Samuel Mason
Architect of a Tragedy—John Chivington
The Late, Unlamented Little Pete—Fong Ching
The Killer They Called Hell's Belle—Belle Sorensen Gunness
Partners in Perfidy—Isaac Harris and Max Blanck
Chicago's Florist-Mobster—Dean O'Banion
A Huckster's Rise and Fall—John Brinkley
Hitchcock's Hideous Inspiration—Ed Gein
SCOUNDRELS:
Salem's Rabid Witch-Hunter—William Stoughton
Uncle Daniel the "Speckerlator"—Daniel Drew
Unleashing the James-Younger Gang—James Lane
Lincoln's Missing Bodyguard—John Parker
Squirrel Tooth Alice—Libby Thompson
The Lawman Who Went Bad—Burt Alvord
The Very Mellow Yellow Kid—Joseph Weil
You Bet Your Life—Alvin Thomas
Keeper of the Immaculate Sperm—Charles Davenport
The Silken Voice of Treachery—Mildred Gillars
ROGUES:
Who's that Rapping On My Floor?—Maggie and Kate Fox
The Witch of Wall Street—Hetty Green
King of the Cannibal Islands—David O'Keefe
Master Salesman of a Dubious Legend—Herbert Bridgman
The Consummate Gold Digger—Peggy Hopkins Joyce
The Mad, Sad Poet of Greenwich Village—Maxwell Bodenheim
The Bifurcated Congressman—Samuel Dickstein
The Frugal Counterfeiter—Emerich Juettner
Imperfect Pitch—Don Lapre

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   • description: Biography & Autobiography / Historical
2. • code: HIS054000
   • description: History / Social History
3. • code: TRU004000
   • description: True Crime / Hoaxes & Deceptions