Review by Booklist Review
Joan of Arc, Grigory Rasputin, and that guy who stole the Mona Lisa (that would be one Vincenzo Peruggia) may not seem like they have all that much in common. But all were, one way or another, caught. In her eminently readable, tongue-in-cheek style, Bragg (How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous, 2011) profiles, in chronological order, 14 people from history who were famous or, more often, infamous for daring or dastardly acts. Some, like Bernard Kuehn, who spied for the Japanese during WWII and helped bring about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, were truly heinous; others, like exotic dancer-turned-sort-of informant Mata Hari, who merely ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, were just trying to survive. The cheekily line-illustrated book manages to be exceptionally varied: the people profiled here are highwayman, con artists, and painters. Some, like Al Capone and Typhoid Mary, killed (intentionally or otherwise) quite a lot of people before they were locked up; others, like the pirate Blackbeard, killed none at all; and others still, like assassin John Wilkes Booth, were famous for one particular murder. ""Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves,"" Bragg says in her introduction, quoting Robert Kennedy, and this volume, highly entertaining and assiduously researched, offers a fascinating glimpse into different periods of history and human nature both.--Maggie Reagan Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This scattershot survey of infamous criminals throughout history by Bragg (How They Croaked) offers mixed results. Covering such subjects as Joan of Arc and Al Capone, among others, Bragg limits her scope to Europeans and Americans--some of whom committed crimes, while others were judged unjustly. Each chapter includes "Facts and Stats," such as the reward money offered for various criminals ($500 for Billy the Kid) and a few vocabulary terms. The profiles' humorous language can sometimes feel intrusive (a claim that Blackbeard was a "trendsetter" who "wasn't that bad") or even inappropriate (is "evil jerk" a strong enough phrase to describe Adolf Hitler, pictured but not mentioned in the chapter on WWII spy Bernard Kuehn?), though O'Malley's cartoons add amusement and interest. And while Bragg claims that all of these individuals "changed history," which certainly seems true for Joan of Arc and John Wilkes Booth, the connection is less obviously clear for other figures, such as artist and murderer Caravaggio. While some readers may enjoy the flip approach, the uneven tone makes this a secondary purchase. Ages 10--14. (Sept.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--9--Bragg's previous two books, How They Croaked and How They Choked, can sit comfortably next to the newest companion focused on a handful of history's most wanted. Famous criminals like Jesse James and John Wilkes Booth are mentioned, but there are also lesser-known individuals like the Pearl Harbor spy Bernard Kuehn and Anna Anderson, who spent most of her life pretending she was Anastasia Romanov. In Bragg's signature style, each person is introduced with an illustration, followed by a brief biography focused on the subtitled topic of "nabbing history's most wanted" interspersed with lighthearted art and ending with a spread of facts, statistics, and defined jargon. Nothing is more captivating than Bragg's storytelling. As a package, the book's 14 personalities spanning 1412--1899 are collectively fascinating under the umbrella of unenviable criminality. In some cases, the accusations outweighed the truth. Individually, the book can provide background to a historical time period or material for a biography. Nonetheless, Bragg reins in the humor and delicately balances the facts with a lighthearted but reverent tone that offers historical context and thoughtful perspective. VERDICT Do not escape purchasing at least one copy for public and school libraries to round out a collective biography section. This can be used for a read-aloud or a history revealed display.--Alicia Abdul, Albany High School, NY
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this third collaboration (How They Choked, 2014, etc.) with illustrator O'Malley, Bragg profiles 14 famous and infamous characters from the Middle Ages through the 20th century.Though the cover illustration of a prisoner behind bars suggests all the subjects were criminals, the thematic connection is looser than that, gathering together individuals who were pursued with hopes of capture for a variety of reasons. "Everyone in this book got caught for something; most were guilty, some were not," Bragg explains. Profiles include spies Mata Hari and Bernard Kuehn, "Typhoid Mary" Mallon, con artist Rasputin, Princess Anastasia impersonator Anna Anderson, Joan of Arc, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Even the connections among those generally acknowledged to be criminals, such as pirate Blackbeard, assassin John Wilkes Booth, and art thief Vincenzo Peruggia, appear vague and arbitrary. Despite this lack of definition, the individual profiles are entertaining and informative. Bragg's flippant tone and chatty prose style are nicely complemented by O'Malley's cartoon illustrations. Between each chapter is a page or two of information related to the activities of those profiled and their times. One noticeable weakness is the lack of source notes for quotes attributed to historical figures. Did Dr. George Soper really say to Typhoid Mary, "You, Mary Mallon, cooking in the kitchen with icky bathroom germs on your hands"?Readers who enjoyed Bragg and O'Malley's previous collections will likely find this fun and interesting, loosey-goosey theme and all. (bibliography) (Collective biography. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
