A History of the World in 51 Heroes and Villains

Welcome to a shadowy realm where the divide between the noble and the nefarious isn?t quite as clear as it seems. Where saints can appear suspiciously treacherous, and scoundrels reveal unexpected glimmers of virtue. Prepare for sword fights, scandals and enough moral ambiguity to make Machiavelli blush ? from the imperial court of eleventh-century Japan to the studios of twentieth-century Hollywood.