Atlas of true crime : a worldwide guide to murderers and thieves, kidnappers & con men

“Crime is a fact of the human species, a fact of that species alone.” —Georges Bataille, French philosopher Interest in criminal behaviour continues to flourish. The worse the crime, and the greater the notoriety of the perpetrator, the more the public yearns to digest every detail.

Atlas of True Crime offers a wide-ranging perspective of the criminal underworld from the 1850s to the present, providing illustrated histories of dozens of infamous individuals who have left their mark on society — in the darkest ways possible.

Here are the apex serial killers: Gacy, Bundy, Berkowitz; the cannibals: Dahmer, Gein and Albert Fish; and spree killers like Richard Speck, Charles Whitman and Charles Manson — plus murderers and cannibals from around the world.

There are gang leaders, spouse killers, parents who took the lives of their children and children who targeted other children, poisoners, kidnappers, gangs that pull off massive robberies and swindles by smoothly impressive con men.

Contents include: Crimebusters and the history of policing; The advent of forensic science; Bootleggers and bank robbers; Top Crime Bosses of the past century; Unsolved murders and Hollywood homicides; Romance gone wrong; The minds of serial killers; British, Asian, European and South American killers; Cannibals and kidnappers; Big robberies and grand theft; White collar criminals and embezzlers.

Filled with striking archival photos in a full colour design and full colour maps, this will fascinate true-crime buffs everywhere.