The battle between good and evil has been fought since the beginning of time. Which is the surer path to historical recognition? There seems to be conflicting evidence wherever you look:

1. • For every Jesus (7 B.C.–A.D. 30) [1], there is an Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) [7].

2. • For every charitable missionary like Mother Teresa (1910–1997) [820] lurks a gangster like Al Capone (1899–1947) [646].

3. • For every social worker like Jane Addams (1860–1935) [1256] exists an assassin like Lee Harvey Oswald (1939–1963) [1435].

4. • For every civil rights leader like Martin Luther King (1929–1968) [221], we find a serial killer like Jack the Ripper [166].

In this chapter, we will consider a range of figures from both ends of the morality scale, to open a discussion on which is the more enduring path to glory. Our conclusion is that true virtue is generally rewarded, but spectacular acts of infamy endure longer than similar acts of heroism.

The Killers

Hammurabi (1796–1750 B.C.) [899], the lawmaker, has been followed by three millennia of law breakers. But several criminals richly deserving of their punishment endure as cultural figures because of the imagination and magnitude of their crimes. In this section we will identify the most prominent outlaws, assassins, and other killers, to better understand the source of this fascination.