Some devised methods of torture cruel beyond belief, while others killed family members or ordered the murders of millions. Vlad Dracul impaled enemies, the Byzantine empress Irene gouged out her son's eyes, and the Crusaders massacred 70,000 innocent Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem. In the 20th century, Adolf Hitler slaughtered 6 million Jews, Josef Stalin liquidated 25 million Russians, and Mao Zedong was responsible for 70 million Chinese deaths. This work presents compelling portraits of 101 sinister individuals who reveled in the brutal exercise of unchecked power, imposing pain and suffering with contempt for human life. Notorious figures like Nero, Genghis Khan, and Jack the Ripper are featured alongside lesser-known but equally horrifying characters such as Byzantine emperor Justinian the Slit-Nose and the cannibal Sawney Beane. Each biography is accompanied by articles revealing fascinating aspects of these figures, including Sultan Selim the Grim's royal murder methods and the dark legacy of Leopold II in the Belgian Congo. Lavishly illustrated and filled with illuminating quotations, this compendium serves as a gripping exploration of history's cruel and murderous, offering indispensable lessons that should not be forgotten.
