Under Arrest: a history of the 20th century in mugshots
Giacomo Papi (Granta Books, 191pp, £10)
ISBN 1862078920
Some famous faces can be seen in unexpected circumstances in the stunning Under Arrest: a history of the 20th century in mugshots (Granta Books, 191pp, £10). The book is not an alternative history of the 20th century so much as an all-star rogues' gallery: Lucky Luciano, Malcolm X, Sid Vicious and 50 Cent share the pages with terrorists, dictators, Gulag prisoners and serial killers.
In his accompanying text, Giacomo Papi flits between dry description and highly subjective analysis. He makes clear his contempt for "conformist" society and sympathises with those who commit "resonant acts". Police photography, he asserts, is a manifestation of the "taxidermic impulse" lurking in our society and an "attempt to imprison . . . everyone within a single glance".
Whatever you make of this, there are some priceless shots. Arrested in New Mexico for a traffic violation, a teenaged Bill Gates beams at the camera as if posing for a school photo; a frazzled James Brown tries to focus after his arrest for suspected domestic violence; Jane Fonda raises her fist in defiance after being arrested on a protest march; Al Capone stares at the camera with smug indifference. And even when the subjects' faces are expressionless, the accompanying stories guarantee that each mugshot has a peculiar allure.
In a world obsessed with celebrity, Under Arrest is an irresistible who's who of iconic lawbreakers.
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