Booked: The Last 150 Years Told through Mug Shots

by Giacomo Papi, Jamie Richards (Translator)

What is so fascinating about a mug shot? Is it the guilty pleasure of seeing the mighty fall? Or the voyeuristic appeal of witnessing people at their most vulnerable? Arrested collects hundreds of these flashes of humanity from the last 150 years including:James Brown Lenny Bruce Al Capone Jeffrey Dahmer Eminem Bill Gates Saddam Hussein Mick Jagger Malcolm X Al Pacino Elvis Presley Bugsy Siegel Joseph Stalin Sid Vicious and more!

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Giacomo Papi was born in Milan in 1968.

Reviews

[lorinbocol · Rating 3 out of 5]

un celo-manca di personaggi a cui almeno una volta nella vita è stata scattata una foto segnaletica. per motivi politici o per sudato curriculum criminale. il libro di giacomo papi offre sicuramente un punto di vista diverso, e infatti la casa editrice isbn lo scelse come titolo inaugurale.
dopodiché la fruizione è duplice: lo si può semplicemente sfogliare con la curiosità che si riserva ai giornali nelle sale d'attesa (fa un po' buco della serratura, ma vabbè) oppure lo si può guardare in trasversale, soffermandosi sul come/perché. e allora oltre che divertente diventa interessante.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great idea for a book--but God, what an awful book. The only reason I'm giving it two stars is because of all the great mugshots (even Stalin, for crying out loud!). But the writer spews largely at random throughout; it was like Gary Busey wrote a book.

[serra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at a variety of mugshots though human history.

Not every person in this is a wanted criminal which I found interesting. I’m glad I read it.

My first real read of 2024!!! We are starting off strong

[Alida McDermott]

I don't rate non-fiction but this was enjoyable.

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought on the clearance rank, I was not expecting much from this book. It surpassed my expectations and is quite clever. There is history, emotion, art, and philosophy. The mug shot collection is very large and informative. Who would have thought that at some point, authorities believed that photographing the nude backside of a homosexual would serve as a future aid in identification?

Papi views this book more as art than documentary or history. As a consequence, organization suffers. The accompanying summaries are more like brief descriptions found in an art gallery because there is rarely any historical context. The summaries are about a page in length, offering readers a brief summary of what led to the arrests. However, further discussion is typically omitted. For example, the significance of the Bonnot Gang remains obscure; and Papi danced around the controversial Giuseppe Musolino - portraying him as a man forced into banditry and lawlessness.

The conclusion is about twenty pages of history and art criticism. He describes the emotions on display in the images. At places he is philosophical, such as when he quotes Robert Kennedy who said "society creates the type of criminal it needs." It certainly makes the reader think of terrorists around every corner in the US. It is a good conclusion that nicely wraps up a casual and interesting read.

[Zioluc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Panoramica del Novecento attraverso le foto segnaletiche: personaggi famosi, prigionieri politici e di guerra, criminali di ogni tipo. Ogni pagina una segnaletica, ogni foto una scheda. Alcune schede sono buffe, più numerose quelle che fanno rabbrividire.

Alcune segnaletiche sono straordinariamente interessanti dal punto di vista fotografico, e me ne sono stupito.

Le riflessioni finali potevano essere condensate in mezza pagina, comunque un bel lavoro.

[Naima Haviland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that Papi included mugshots from the very earliest times, including types of mugshots and subjects that are not well known today but that highlight the strange perceptions, prejudices, and missperceptions of the times. I thought this would be only a guilty pleasure on par with reading a tabloid but instead, I learned about interesting subversives I'd like to research further.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

History told through mug shots - imagine if they used this as a high school text. No more passing notes and doodling!

[Micky Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource for actual arrests made and short synopsis of individuals. Would recommend as a fine research source

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account of how the mugshot was born, and its importance in history afterwards

[Melissa Salsgiver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read something that I didn't have to follow chapter by chapter. Just open the book and learn about a new arrest. Some I didn't realize had been arrested.

[Kasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The photos are really interesting, but the accompanying text is not so great.