Merciless Monarchs and Ruthless Royalty

Gr 5–8—These high-interest, brief books deliver information about some of history's most notorious villains, most in two-page biographical sketches that relate their nefarious deeds without delving into gory details. While popular topics such as pirates and outlaws will always attract an audience, the brevity of each profile means that this set does not deliver enough background information to help readers fully place many of these people into historical contexts (such as Prohibition or the Cold War) and/or explain their actions. That weakness is most obvious in Monarchs, Assassins, and Gangsters, in which students may find the actions of "Bloody Mary," Al Capone, and others mystifying. Full-color and black-and-white photos and reproductions, word definitions in text boxes, and sidebars supplement the short biographies. Most of these figures have been written about in extant titles, making these books additional choices for reluctant readers.