Bandidos

One day, Eric Hobsbawm became intrigued by the fact that the same stories about righteous outlaws—figures who redistribute wealth—kept reappearing all over the world. This sparked a fascinating exploration into the lives and myths of such characters, ranging from Robin Hood to Salvatore Giuliano, and including Pancho Villa, the Balkan *haiduks*, the *dacoits* of India, the Brazilian *cangaçeiros*, and the urban guerrillas of the Spanish anarchist movement. His book has become a classic of social history. It situates the phenomenon of banditry within the political context in which it operates, and it remains highly relevant today—in an era when states are increasingly less capable of maintaining law and order.