Booked

Why are we so fascinated with seeing celebrities arrested? Is it the guilty pleasure of seeing the mighty fall? Or the voyeuristic appeal of witnessing people at their seemingly most candid and vulnerable moments?

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 A-list celebrities Hugh Grant and 50 Cent to political icons Martin Luther King, Jr. and Angela Davis, from serial killer Ted Kaczinsky to the oddly beautiful actor privy to Abraham Lincoln’s assignation, from prisoners of Auschwitz to a bearded Saddam Hussein, all of them declare a simple truth: the last 150 years told through police photographs 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.

Giacomo Papi is the author of several books including Era una notte buia e tempestosa (It was a dark and stormy night), an anthology of the best opening lines in world literature, with a preface by Umberto Eco; Papá, a best-selling humorous guide for expecting fathers; and Accusare: Storia del Novecento in 366 foto segnaletiche. Since 2000 he has worked as a journalist for Diario, an Italian weekly newsmagazine.