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. 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."Seattle 'Badass' author answers some questions, The Seattle Times, (December 4, 2009), Retrieved on 2010-05-29
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:
Ramesses II Leonidas Xenophon Alexander the Great Chandragupta Maurya Emperor Gaozu Julius Caesar Surena Julia Agrippina Alaric I Khalid bin Walid Charles Martel Ulf the Quarrelsome William the Conqueror Harald Hardrada Tomoe Gozen Genghis Khan Vlad the Impaler Miyamoto Musashi Blackbeard Anne Bonny Peter Francisco Horatio Nelson Napoleon Bonaparte Agustina of Aragon Bass Reeves Nikola Tesla Manfred Von Richthofen Henry Johnson (World War I soldier) Eliot Ness Irina Sebrova Jack Churchill General George S. Patton Carlos Hathcock Bruce Lee Yonatan Netanyahu
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.BADASS by Ben Thompson: FAQ, Retrieved on 2010-05-29 Steven Belledin provided cover art for the book.
References
External links Badass: The Book FAQ Badass of The Week Amazon.com listing