Country United States Genre history, humor Pages 352 | Language English Publication date October 27, 2009 Originally published 27 October 2009 Page count 352 | |
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Subject historical figures biography Similar Badass: The Birth of a Legend, Marvel Masterworks: Golden A, Accident Compensation ACT: Key, Guts & Glory: The American, Guts & Glory: World Wa | ||
Badass: A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live, also known as Badass: The Book, is a history and biography book. It is the debut book of Ben Thompson, owner of the website Badass of The Week.
The book focuses on historical figures considered to be badass: having exceptional toughness, aggressiveness, battle skills and/or resilience, and have a significant achievement or impact on history. It is written in a lighthearted, bombastic, and often politically incorrect style, not unlike fratire books such as The Alphabet of Manliness (which, incidentally, also started out as a website), but in contrast to that genre's borderline misogynistic content, this book also includes a number of female figures deemed worthy of the "badass" title. Thompson has stated in an interview that he intended to convey history in the language of youth, so that they feel like "reading something [they're] not supposed to, but ... actually learning something."
Content
The book has 40 historical figures organized in chronological order through four major time periods: Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Age of Gunpowder, and the Modern Era. Some of the figures are:
There are also additional features such as a list of "Badass Marines" and a feature on "Awesome Things You Can Shoot Out of a Catapult." The illustrations are done by several artists that have done work for Wizards of the Coast, White Wolf, and DC Comics.