BOOKS

Trials and Trickery: All the Grim, Gruesome, and Gory Parts of History's Dark Side

by Sandra LAWRENCE
9781499800814. ea vol: 64p. (Hideous History). glossary. illus. index. little bee. Jul. 2016. Tr $11.99.
COPY ISBN
Gr 6–8-A presentation on various macabre-themed episodes of history, from Julius Caesar's assassination to 20th-century gangsters. Readers will learn of the terrible ways in which humans have tortured, killed, and maimed one another over the course of history. The text occasionally caricatures entire peoples ("With 300 years of pillage and plunder under their tooled leather belts, the Vikings still rank as some of the blood thirstiest bad guys in history."). Bright red blood splotches appear on most pages. The cartoonish illustrations can be rather violent: severed heads and other wounds are portrayed.
VERDICT A selection more at home with Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark than with other history titles. Recommended for collections that serve horror fans or in need of Halloween-related materials.-Jeffrey Meyer, Mt. Pleasant Public Library, IA
Reviewed by Jeffrey Meyer , Nov 01, 2016

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