Monsters: History's most evil men and women [Paperback]

Whenever a selection of types of people are chosen by the author, the selection itself is often the interesting part-why was he selected and not him etc. This book as a good cross section of monsters, though most of the subjects are political, or they have a connection with the status quo. I found the early part of the book challenging, as all the Roman Emperors seemed demonic, and they seemed to follow one after the other. The more contemporary characters were more recognisable as they had been in the news in living memory-mine!!This is very much a book to dip in and out of, reading it straight through I found not to my satisfaction, as my knowledge of early history was not strong enough to fully understand all the implications. In each of the biographies there is an inset on some aspect of their lives or a potted history of their methods e.g cruxificion, which I found quite useful, but it makes the reading of the book somewhat disjointed. Arecommende or suggestive reading list would have been helpful as well, but a well written and interesting book

Heroes and villains are the staple part of many a story and history is no different. Across two books, Montefiore has taken the liberty of exploring a selection of not just history's greatest heroes and heroines but of its monsters as well. I opted to read about the monsters first, get those shudders out of the way, before moving onto the heroes. Quite simply we have here a selection of the worst examples of mankind in history,y renowned for mass murder, extreme cruelty and despotism. You wouldn't want to dine with any of these, that's for sure!

The book is intended not as an in-depth analysis of each man and woman but of a brief summary of their life and of the notoriety associated with their name. If readers then wish to read more in-depth biographies they can do. We are given a chronological account of these figures and while many of the results are unsurprising there may be one or two that surprise you - most notably Henry VIII. I'd always been taught at school that Henry VIII was a great king and a work colleague, who saw me reading this book, did say Henry VIII, a monster, but why? I thought of this for a few seconds and responded, well, he did kill two of his wives! Truth is, Henry VIII did a lot of bad things but you'll have to decide for yourself whether he is worthy of this list. His esteemed daughter, Elizabeth I, certainly isn't mentioned.

The chronology works well with, giving us a taste of developing societies but also new ways and means of delivering horrific bloodshed. A lot of the early figures are Roman emperors such as the lovely Caligula before we trace the end of the Roman Empire with the likes of Attila the Hun rampaging across Western Europe. Genghis Khan, arguably the world's greatest ever conqueror, is deemed a monster here, as is that other great conqueror Tamerlane, both rulers of vast empires but purveyors of outrageous bloodshed, the latter especially with piles of skulls. As we progress through the Medieval period there are some interesting names such as the downright rubbish English kings John and Richard II, incompetent yes, but they're not the first that spring to mind for me as monsters. I'd regard them as morons but not monsters. That's what's great about the book though. You're not supposed to agree with all of these choices, you can question them all if you like.

A lot of the figures here are monarchs, emperors and other political rulers. Some serial killers do get a mention such as Jack the Ripper but undoubted monsters such as the Moors Murderers, Jeffrey Dahmer and the Yorkshire Ripper are absent and there are many more names you could put forward for consideration but Montefiore would still be writing the book if we included everyone! At times the monsters seem to have been chosen based on the number of deaths they have caused such as the vicious Pol Pot and the killing fields of Cambodia but the other extreme is about the methods of killing. Dr Crippen and Charles Manson didn't kill many people but in the contexts of their time, their crimes were appalling and scandalous, legendary notoriety sealed with their respective fates. Dr Crippen, hanged for murdering his wife, is an interesting one given new evidence that suggests the flesh found beneath his house and said to be that of his wife was actually from a man! Some of the history here such as Lucrezia Borgia's tale is speculation based on the sources from the time. That's the problem with history, the further back we go the more limited are the sources we have. Some of the figures here are portrayed as vicious but they might not have been as bad as their contemporaries make them. After all, those Vikings were always more reviled because they attacked and plundered monasteries while chroniclers at the time were often of the religious persuasion so naturally would frown more upon such acts.

Modern figures such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao Ze Dong, Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden are all here ane they will get nods of approval from many countries but the seemingly lesser names such as Hitler's associates, Eichmann and Himmler, are not overlooked while criminals such as Al Capone and Pablo Escobar are worth a mention too. This is a fascinating subject that Montefiore has raised and there are no right or wrong answers. I have read in-depth about some of the names here already and it is interesting that Genghis Khan is regarded as a monster while Alexander the Great is a hero. Both were remarkable men, military geniuses in fact, but both could be brutal when it came to their conquests yet there is this striking distinction between them. I'm not sure I'd argue Genghis Khan as a hero but the majority of great conquerors have to shed a lot of blood to achieve their aims yet many of the so-called "Greats" of history were renowned for military prowess. That's what makes this such an intriguing read throughout and looking at it from a modern perspective where invading countries is controversial and not something to be celebrated. You'll learn about new names from history here that you might never have come across while those you do know will have a whole new dimension for you to discover. Remember this is Montefiore's selection of monsters, he never insists that he is right, but this compelling selection is the perfect way to debate the subject ourselves.

Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and Women is a great read, summarising the lives of some truly vicious figures from history. With each entry only being three or four pages you can dip into this at your leisure. Montefiore also provides some additional snippets about other related figures that didn't quite make the list as well as notorious events from history. This is a great starting point if you want to read about historical figures but are not sure who to start with.

Magnificent book by Simon Sebag Montefiore covering all the major villains from history.He has marvellous isight into what made these guys tick. it can be read from beginning to end or you can pick out your favourite villains.