Can you be sued for including real people in your book without their permission?

Question

For instance, Napoleon appeared in many older books.

Could I include real politicians, heads of state and important business people as long as it's not libelous?

Answer 1

As long as you're not slandering them and anything you say that could be considered as such can be backed up by reliable facts then no you can't be sued.

There are a lot of policital books out there that are slamming various people in positions of power but they're not getting sued because they're able to back it up with fact.

It's a fine line but if you're careful you should be okay.  Because free speech is protected by the First Amendmant.

Answer 2

Yes, you can.

Answer 3

I guess the problem is that they might find whatever you write unacceptable regardless of your intentions. I think it is because of this that you'll find a "This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental." warning on most books, and fiction writers rarely cite places or people (except truly historical figures) directly, they often distort their names and traits. Also, you could be sued both by the person you refer to and by her/his immediate family members, so it's also unsafe to include people who have passed away.

Answer 4

Yes you could so you should get permission or change there name in a way that makes it obvious who they are meant to be.