Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues by Paul Martin

I read an actual fully prose book!

I know that it seems from this blog that I don't read anything but comics and graphic novels. But that's not true! I love to read and before I started my new collection in 2007, I read tons of prose fiction and non-fiction.See, my original comic book collection was stolen when I was about 14 and until I turned 30, I didn't read comic books anymore. But when my best friend Todd invited me and my wife to a convention I got hooked on comics once again. And I made up for lost time.

   Every once in a while I get the hankering to read something with some literary meat to it. Now I am not in any way saying that comics cannot be high brow or challenging to read. It's just like a person who only eats sandwiches and then one day gets a hankering for some fried chicken. That's how I was with this.

  I found 'Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues' at the library. It's a collection of short essays on some of American history's forgotten baddies. Some are truly bad like the slave trader who would tie unruly slaves to his ship's bow until they drown. Some are insane like Mr. Ed Gein, who would dig up bodies and make furniture and clothes with their body parts. Some are opportunists whose quest for fame and fortune was morally questionable while some subjects in this book would shoot you were you stood just because you looked at them funny and then rob you for good measure.

   Oddly enough, I don't think very many of the subjects in this book are all that unknown. At least 6 of these characters have been explored on the Travel Channel series 'Mysteries at the Museum.' I wonder if Martin watches that show like I do?

   I really enjoyed this book to a fault. When the writer is presenting the facts and life stories of these scoundrels, his writing is entertaining, clear, and concise. But at the end of just about every chapter, Martin gets preachy trying to justify or condemn the actions and motives of the historical figure. Martin also footnotes like a college student trying to impress his favorite professor. That leads me to think that this book might fit under the category of 'publish or perish." because scholarly works are just about the only works I have ever come across in which the author makes such critical diagnosis that it spins the intended premise into a whirlpool of tangents.

  Despite my unhappiness with Martin's conjectures, I am still very interested in finding his book on some of the unsung heroes of this great nation 'Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World."

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.