Every year twelve million Americans are arrested and photographed by the police. In many ways, mug shots are our history. Using a dazzling selection of mug shots that are arrestingly raw in their starkness and strangely eloquent in their simplicity, this absorbing, humorous, often bewildering collection sheds a whole new light on our rebellious century.

From political icons Martin Luther King Jr.and Angela Davis, to A-list celebrities Hugh Grant and 50 Cent, from killer Ted Kaczynski to the actor who aided in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, from prisoners of Auschwitz to a bearded Saddam Hussein, all of them declare a simple truth: The last 150 years told through police photography is truly an alternative history. Author Giacomo Papi’s brisk and insightful commentary enlightens us with intriguing backstories and little-known facts.

A feast for the eyes and the mind, Booked presents an ingenious and utterly unique snapshot of our times.