In different parts of the world, a curious tourist every now and then stumbles upon statues of formidable men - on foot and on horseback. Local residents no longer notice these pretentious monuments, considering them an integral part of the city landscape. Most often, the hero’s eyebrows are frowned, his piercing gaze is directed into the distance, his posture is proud, and he holds a weapon in his hands or points one of them to a bright future. Immortalized in stone and bronze, these leaders are familiar to townspeople from history books, novels and films. Meanwhile, it was these people who once brought glory to their countries and determined their position on the world map. The book of the Finnish writer and researcher Ari Turunen reveals to us not the heroic, but the unsightly sides of powerful figures. Rulers, politicians, conquerors - the more people they killed, captured and subjugated to their will, the more likely they were to have monuments erected to them. The great heroes of their fatherland were usually considered villains and criminals in neighboring states. Alexander the Great, Vladimir Lenin, Vasco da Gama, Ivan the Terrible, Martin Luther and other figures here are not heroes, but “bad guys”, who have one thing in common: arguing with them was damn dangerous.