Merciless Monarchs and Ruthless Royalty

by Miriam Aronin Narrated by Book Buddy Digital Media

Overview

Loyal subjects, watch out! Some of history's royal leaders were just as vicious as they were powerful. These kings and queens stole, tortured, and murdered. Read on to discover the gruesome ways these rulers terrorized their enemies, their own people, and even their own blood.

Editorial Reviews

VOYA - Dawn Talbott

In this multivolume series about bad guys of all types, readers learn about some of the most notorious people in history. Merciless Monarchs And Ruthless Royalty focuses on rulers from Egypt's Herod and Rome's Nero to Russia's Ivan the Terrible and Belgium's Leopold II. This series is very visually appealing and fits easily into the preferences of style common to today's readers by using concise text with easy-to-read language that features interesting voice. Each wicked profile has a two- or four-page full-colored spread with text, illustrations, and photos. Every volume starts with a two-page introduction of the topic spotlighted. There is not a glossary, but each selection includes a defined word in a text box, so unfamiliar words are located right near the context, a very user-friendly aspect of the series. A table of contents makes it easy for readers to find the information about a specific personality if they so choose. The accounts are overall summaries of the lives of each of the characters, including significant dates, which is a great way to get some basic knowledge about these nefarious people. If doing research, however, a much more in-depth source would be needed for a solid base. This set is a great way to add some fiendish fun to a collection of biographies. (Shock Zone: Villains) Reviewer: Dawn Talbott

Children's Literature - Greg M. Romaneck

Once, in an ungodly moment of anger, Ivan the Terrible, Czar of Russia from 1533-1584, became so enraged that he struck his son in the head with a heavy staff. Immediately upon seeing blood flowing from what would prove to be a mortal wound, Czar Ivan embraced his dying son and wept. Yet, this bitterness, albeit self-inflicted through terrible violence, did nothing to stop Ivan from brutalizing literally tens of thousands of people during his reign. It is rulers such as Ivan the Terrible that writer Aronin tackles in this volume of the illustrated "Shock Zone Villains" series. Through mini-biographies of perilously violent monarchs Aronin tells the story of how utter power can affect those who wield it. In the cases of King Herod or Vlad the Impaler the result of their having supreme power was untold suffering for far too many people. In other instances such as Richard III or Mary Queen of England the impact of their leadership was uncharacteristically brutal and not typical of the sovereigns their nation has had over time. In each case, Aronin does an excellent job of detailing just what the rulers in question did and how their brutality affected the broader society they governed. Some of these stories are difficult to think about as one would rather turn away from the evil that men and women do but that is to ignore history. Therefore, Merciless Monarchs and Ruthless Royalty is a valuable look back at the way power can corrupt and the lessons learned from that fact. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170105748
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2017
Series:	ShockZone ¿ - Villains
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

Related Subjects

• Kids
• Politics, Government & Law - Kids
• Social Studies - Kids
• Crime and Criminology - Kids
• Law - Kids

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