Buckle up for true stories of the chiefs, strongmen, and outlaws who kept the peace.

Where did the concept of policing originate? Who fought crime in ancient civilizations like those of Greece and Rome? How did the monarchs of the Middle Ages keep the countryside free of bandits? Why were the frontier towns of the American West policed by gunfighter …

How did King Tut really die?

The mystery of the young pharaoh’s death is only one of the puzzles that modern science has helped solve. Thanks to forensics—the science of examining physical evidence—we now know that King Tut died of malaria. We also know that stomach cancer, and not arsenic as suspected, killed Napoleon.

Seven intriguing stories …

We might think of bodyguards as a modern concept, but they’ve been around since ancient times. The rich, the powerful, the famous, and the infamous have all placed their safety in the hands of bodyguards. From Caesar’s Praetorian Guard to Japanese samurai warriors to Wild West outlaws, bodyguards have played a vital role. They’ve even changed …

Determined to beat the odds, professional thieves spend their lives figuring out ingenious ways to steal other people’s possessions.

In ROBBERS! you’ll uncover the dirt on eight cunning master thieves, including: -Master-of-disguise Willie Sutton, who robbed banks in costume -D. B. Cooper, who hijacked a plane, demanded $200,000, and parachuted …

As long as there have been people willing to believe the unbelievable, people have been duped. In the best storytelling tradition, readers can follow the tales of:

• How the Nazis planned to destroy the British economy during World War II by flooding the world with millions of fake British banknotes • How an infamous radio broadcast had American …

Willie Sutton was casing a bank when he noticed that the manager looked a lot like Sutton himself, so he walked into the vault, loaded up with banknotes, and calmly walked out. D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane, demanded $200,000 in payment, and parachuted from the aircraft. He was never captured.

Other criminals in this book were no less brazen: - Arthu …