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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Haha!, January 11, 2005
I thought this book looked interesting, thank goodness that I was able to get it at a discount price.
Sure, the women in this book are evil. But like is mentioned below... so many more evil women, who did far worse things, who aren't even given an honorary mention! I'm a true-crime and historical fanatic, and I could have chosen much better picks than this author.
We are regaled with descriptions of "classic" murderesses like Lizzie Borden, who killed two people. We hear about Roman Empresses like Messalina and Agrippina (who killed people for political gain... so did EVERYBODY back then. They were politically ambitious, but in a time when EVERYBODY was poisoning EVERYBODY and things kind of sucked in general... is this really hardcore evil?) And Aileen Wuornos, the rather tragic and depressing prostitute... I feel that she was included because of the recent Charlize Theron movie.
I am glad to see Rose West included, because yeah... pretty evil stuff there (read the book "Happy Like Murderers" for her full, horrible story). But most of these chapters are wasted. I mean... Catherine the Great?
Where is Elizabeth Bathory, Hungary's "Blood Countess", who slaughtered and bathed in the blood of young girls? Where is Karla Holmolka, who helped her husband torture and murder young girls including her own sister? THAT'S evil.
Reading a story about a queen who liked to take public baths and was obsessed with the recipe for soap... oh yeah, and executed some Christians as well... I don't know.
Being politically ambitious isn't evil if you live in murderous times. Resisting religious reform isn't evil, but executing people in light of that is a crappy thing to do, and murder in any way is evil... but there are definitely way more "juicy" examples of evil women in the world, and if you're going to call your book something as sassy as "the most EVIL WOMEN in history", it should be bursting with just that: EVIL. Not just short accounts of some nasty deeds, scheming women, and political intrigue.
It's a decent compilation of a few female murderesses from history, some prominent female queens/empresses who participated in political intrigue, peppered with a few contemporary examples, but honestly... meh. I expected this to be a more "delicious" book. I can't think of a word to describe it other than mediocre.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
most evil?, December 31, 2006
The most evil women in this book are:
Lizzie Borden
Audrey Marie Hilley
Valeria Messalina
Agrippina the younger
Tz'u-Hsi
Catherine the great
Queen Ranavalona
Elena Ceausescu
Mary Ann Cotton
Marie Noë
Rose West
Grace Marks
Aileen Wuornos
Myra Hindley
Karla Homolka
Some of these women certainly belong in this book, but Lizzie Borden and queen Ranavalona? I don't know. Nonetheless, it is still a nice compilation of serial killers and despots, who I wouldn't have liked to meet. Some of the women were new to me, which is always interesting. 3 stars for the new information, not for being the most evil women in history.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
This is all you got?, January 2, 2005
Most of the women in this book aren't that evil. One of them was suspected of killing her sister with the help of her abusive boyfriend. Come on! That's the "evil" you're talking about? When I buy a book with the words "most evil" written on it, I expect to see a genocyde or mass bombing or something with some meat on it. Lizzy Bordon was not that evil! She only killed two people! How about the lady who was high and drove her car into a homeless man. When she got home she saw that the guy was still caught in her grill but was still alive so she killed him and tried to bury him in a park. She wasn't even given honorable mention in this crappy book. Don't buy it. Please
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