Some people, if they are lucky, may acquire for themselves a small footnote in history. For most of us this will not be so. We will live our lives, we will die, and we will soon be forgotten; and all that we ever said, all that we ever did, and all that we ever were will die with us. The file on our life will be closed. The characters featured in this book, for better or worse, have all made their mark on history. They will not be forgotten but will live on in time, in legend, in reality, and in myth. This book, however, is not intended to be a forensic examination of its subject. It merely paints the picture. It seeks to provide the background to what happened, to search for the motivations for what they did and how they behaved. It is popular history, a short-cut to events. If it encourages the reader to probe further then all well and good but that is not my intention. I only seek to tell the story.

For the most part I have avoided authorial comment but those views that I do express are mine and mine alone. You may not agree with them but then it is up to you to decide whether or not actions can be justified or should be condemned. No doubt much of the content can be debated – so then debate it. For history is not a science, it is interpretative and in a constant state of flux. In history evidence does not serve as proof.

In the book itself I have placed each character in one of four catergories: Deadlier than the Male, Rebels and Outlaws, Visionaries and Revolutionaries and Hero or Villain. Also included is the addendum Epics of History. These catergories are not set in stone however, and some characters could easily have appeared in two or three.

Unlike the millions who have have gone before us and the millions yet to come, the characters and events of which I write did not pass through time, they were captured by time, and for all time. They truly are Prisoners of Eternity.