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Informationen zum Autor Michael Burgan has written more than three hundred books for young readers! His titles for the WHO HQ series include What Is the Coronavirus Disease COVID-19? , Who Was Henry Ford? , Who Was H. J. Heinz?, Who Was Theodore Roosevelt, and Who Was Confucius? When he's not working, Michael enjoys photographing his travels across the Southwest. Karl James Mountford is an illustrator who works in both traditional and digital media. He has created artwork for such titles as ‘The Uncommoners' by Jennifer Bell, published by Penguin Random House (2017), and ‘The Peculiars’ by Kieran Larwood with Chicken House publishing (2018), to name just a couple. Karl specialises in book cover design and chapter illustrations but also works on picture books, with recent titles including ‘Maurice the Unbeastly’ by Amy Dixon, published by Sterling Children’s Books (2017), and ‘The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth’ by Ellie Hattie with Little Tiger Press (2017). Klappentext "What are the stories behind the men and women who have wreaked havoc in the name of wealth, power, and prestige? Is there any excuse for the actions of those who have been responsible for the deaths of so many? These sixteen fascinating biographies of the world's most notorious and dangerous people-including Attila the Hun, Vlad the Impaler, Queen Mary I of England, Ivan the Terrible, Hernâan Cortâes, Pol Pot, and others-provide a glimpse into their characters, influences, legacies, and incredibly deadly hearts. These are the stories behind the often powerful, always cruel, people who have landed on the wrong side of history-the dark side"-- Leseprobe Introduction His body tied to a wooden rack, a man screams and begs for his life. Spanish soldiers tighten the ropes attached to his arms and legs. They stretch the man’s body until he confesses to a crime he didn’t commit—or until he dies. In another part of Europe, wooden poles stick out of the ground, their tops sharpened to points. Just below one point, a body lies limp. With the pole piercing his body, the victim dies a slow death. In Africa, piles of severed hands surround a military officer from Belgium. The soldiers under his command cut the hands from the bodies of rebels they kill, to prove they have not wasted any bullets. One hand means one bullet fired. These gruesome scenes could have come from a horror movie. But they all actually happened. The deeds described here were carried out under the orders of ruthless people whose actions reflect the evil that humans are capable of. Over centuries and around the world, there have been leaders with great power who have used cruelty and violence to get what they wanted. Some sought to conquer other lands so they could build great empires and amass personal wealth. Other leaders wanted to squash any threats to their rule from rebels or outside enemies. A few may have been driven by a touch of madness. Some people believed their god, or gods, had chosen them to rule and had given them a divine right to kill in the name of their religions. And some, for reasons that are hard for most people to understand, simply enjoyed seeing others suffer. Collected here are the stories of sixteen men and women, powerful people with deadly hearts. What forces shaped them? Some lived when violence and cruelty seemed to be just a part of life—and rulers were expected to get what they wanted. Others believed that mass killing was an acceptable way to take revenge in response to harm done to them or their people. Whatever their background or the world they faced, these sixteen people remind us that human nature has a dark side that can be unleashed in truly terrible ways. Their stories demonstrate that there is a long history of ruthless people who have wreaked havoc to get what they want. They might also say something about us, the...
