The lives of notorious bad guys, perpetrators of mischief, visionary-if
misunderstood-thinkers, and other colorful antiheroes, jerks, and evil
doers from history all get their due in the short essays featured in
these enlightening, informative, books. Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks
in Boston History features eighteen short biographies of nefarious
characters, from the pompous and self-righteous Cotton Mather to the
swindler Charles Ponzi.