Mug Shots

Since Alphonse Bertillon developed the “anthropometric photograph” in 1882, the mug shot has been an essential police procedure around the world. Now available in paperback, Mug Shots presents more than 250 booking photos spanning the history of this practice—the faces of mafia bosses and cold-blooded killers, as well as enemies of the state and prominent political activists.

On display in this international selection are notorious faces such as Al Capone, Fidel Castro, O. J. Simpson, and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz,” as well as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jane Fonda. Accompanying these gripping images is an illuminating commentary that puts both the criminals and their crimes in historical context, reconstructing some of the most dramatic events of the 20th century.