At the end of the 19th century, Alphonse Bertillon created the first police laboratory for the scientific identification of criminals and developed the "anthropometric photo," with which the accused were inventoried by their measurements and physical markings. The mug shot, as it came to be known, was quickly adopted around the globe, and is today an essential police procedure.

This revealing collection presents over 250 mug shots of some of the most infamous suspects in modern history, from mafia bosses to cold-blooded killers, as well as enemies of the state and prominent political activists. From Dreyfus to O.J. Simpson, this international selection includes notables like Lenin, Al Capone, Frank Sinatra, Fidel Castro, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Janis Joplin, Elvis, the Russian Jewish anarchist Emma Goldman, French assassin Raoul Villain, Dutch exotic dancer and spy Mata Hari, Polish war criminal Amon Goeth, and the "Birdman of Alcatraz," Robert Stroud. Accompanying these gripping images is illuminating commentary that puts both the criminals and their crimes in historical context, and reconstructs some of the most dramatic trials of the 20th century.