Bodyguards!: from Gladiators to the Secret Service
by Ed Butts
Publisher: Annick Press, Toronto (2012)
Format: Paperback, 128 p.
Ages: Middle Grades (4-8; 9-13 years)
Geographical Setting: Global
Time Period: Ancient to present
Summary:
A history of the evolution of bodyguards from ancient times to today describing how they trained, what they ate, how they fought, and who they protected. Brief biographies are given of some of the greatest guards from each era. Many kings and emperors even employed female guards over male believing they were more trustworthy. One chapter is dedicated specially to guards for those who were dangerous and wanted, like those from the underworld, mafia, or drug cartels. Another is dedicated to those who either failed or betrayed those they were supposed to protect. The last chapter walks the reader through the life of today's bodyguard who would be in assignment protecting a child and then goes into a description of their rulebook, various weapons and reinforcements used. Throughout the book are break out boxes and "case files" full of intriguing historical facts and trivia. The book ends with a detailed glossary of terms used by bodyguards and a timeline of their evolution.
This is a great read for anyone interested in military history or history in general. The illustrations are more along the lines of those found in comics or graphic novels.
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| Butts, pg. 62 |
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| Butts, p. 31 |
The other two examples are breakout boxes of historical trivia.
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| Butts, pg. 42 |
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| Butts, pg. 86 |
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| Butts, pg. 14 |
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| Alexander the Great being protected by one of his bodyguards (Butts, pg. 13). |
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| Minos (female bodyguards of the King of Dahomey) fight off European colonizers at the end of the 18th century (Butts, pg. 32). |
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| Jujusuffragettes (those who knew the martial arts) protected protesting women from attacks and arrests (Butts, pg. 104) |
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| The Schutzstaffel (Shield Squadron) were Hitler's personal bodyguards from 1933-1945 (Butts, pg. 37). |
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| Prime Minister Gandhi's personal bodyguards betrayed and killed her in 1984 (Butts, pg. 63). |
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| Aisha, Ghadaffi's favorite bodyguard, from his female unit, was killed in an assassination attempt (Butts, pg. 107). |
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| Emperor Qin's tomb found in 1974 with over eight thousand terra cotta soldiers (Butts, pg. 29). |
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| Diagram showing the alterations made to the official limousine used by the US Presidents (Butts, pg. 96). |
Nonfiction Read-a-Likes:
It was very difficult to find nonfiction books about bodyguards or other security professionals for middle and high school students. The two below are for adults, but can be read by high schoolers.
Mercenary Mum: My Journey from Young Mother to Baghdad Bodyguard by Neryl Joyce. Follow a single young mother who leaves her job at a local retail store to a soldier in the Australian army’s Close Personal Protection Unit. (Grades 9-12)
Beyond the Bodyguard: Proven Tactics and Dynamic Strategies for Protective Practices Success by Gavriel Schneider. Endorsed by experts, this book will show readers what life is like as a bodyguard and other security professionals. (Grades 9-12).
Lesson Plans:
Bodyguards! can be used by teachers in history class when studying about ancient civilization or America's Wild West or when discussing the US presidents and other global leaders who were assassinated.
Bodyguard Series by Chris Bradford
I remember seeing this book somewhere in the course module readings and thought it looked like a possibly good choice for reluctant readers. For example, the case file tidbits you showed seem like a nice way to get a small bit of interesting info on something and then move on to another topic. Reluctant readers that may feel they don’t want to commit to a whole book about one thing, might like this because it covers a variety of incidents centered around the theme instead of just one. I also really like how there are pages that look graphic nove-esque. The way they are illustrated looks like some effort was put into them as well artistically. I think that would also appeal to a reluctant reader--the different ways of having text presented all in one place, both in ways that are in general different from a straightforward approach to just pure information that drones on and on. I’ll have to check this one out!
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