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| an infamous dictator in history: Children of Monsters Jay Nordlinger, 2017-01-10 Some years ago, the author, Jay Nordlinger, was in Albania. He was there to give a talk under State Department auspices. Albania was about ten years beyond the collapse of Communism. For almost 40 years, the country had been ruled by one of the most brutal dictators in history: Enver Hoxha. Nordlinger wondered whether this dictator had had children. He had indeed: three of them. And they were still in Albania, with their 3 million fellow citizens. Nordlinger wondered, What are the lives of the Hoxha kids like? What must it be like to be the son or daughter of a monstrous dictator? What must it be like to bear a name synonymous with oppression, terror, and evil? In this book, Nordlinger surveys 20 dictators in all. They are the worst of the worst: Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and so on. The book is not about them, really, though of course they figure in it. It's about their children. Some of them are absolute loyalists. They admire, revere, or worship their father. Some of them actually succeed their father as dictator-as in North Korea, Syria, and Haiti. Some of them have doubts. A couple of them become full-blown dissenters, even defectors. A few of the daughters have the experience of having their husband killed by their father. Most of these children are rocked by exile, prison, and the like. Obviously, the children have some things in common. But they are also individuals, making of life what they can. The main thing they have in common is this: They have been dealt a very, very unusual hand. What would you do, if you were the offspring of an infamous dictator, who lords it over your country? Chances are, you'll never have to find out! But some people have-and this book investigates those lucky, or unlucky, few-- |
| an infamous dictator in history: Strongman Kenneth C. Davis, 2020-10-06 From the bestselling author of the Don’t Know Much About® books comes a dramatic account of the origins of democracy, the history of authoritarianism, and the reigns of five of history's deadliest dictators. A Washington Post Best Book of the Year!A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year! A YALSA 2021 Nonfiction Award Nominee! What makes a country fall to a dictator? How do authoritarian leaders—strongmen—capable of killing millions acquire their power? How are they able to defeat the ideal of democracy? And what can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? By profiling five of the most notoriously ruthless dictators in history—Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein—Kenneth C. Davis seeks to answer these questions, examining the forces in these strongmen’s personal lives and historical periods that shaped the leaders they’d become. Meticulously researched and complete with photographs, Strongman provides insight into the lives of five leaders who callously transformed the world and serves as an invaluable resource in an era when democracy itself seems in peril. * A fascinating, highly readable portrayal of infamous men that provides urgent lessons for democracy now. —Publishers Weekly, starred review Strongman is a book that is both deeply researched and deeply felt, both an alarming warning and a galvanizing call to action, both daunting and necessary to read and discuss. —Cynthia Levinson, author of Fault Lines in the Constitution |
| an infamous dictator in history: 20 Dictators of The World Kalyani Mookherji, 2020-09-15 In the late nineteenth and twentieth century; with the disappearance of monarchies in many parts of the world; a new autocratic system emerged – the dictatorship; in which all power over a state or community was again concentrated into the hands of one person; without being restricted by constitution; laws or opposition. The individual with this kind of absolute authority was known as the dictator. Here are the twenty dictators of modern times whose actions have left a strong imprint on destiny of the country they ruled; and sometimes even influenced the very history of the world. More often though; dictators rose to the power by leading a coup d’état; in which often a weak monarch of government was deposed and instead a dictatorship established. A nice read book to deep into history. Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac by Honoré de Balzac: In this collection, Honoré de Balzac presents a selection of his acclaimed short stories, showcasing his incredible talent for vivid storytelling and character development. With its rich language and engaging narratives, this book is a must-read for fans of classical literature. Key Aspects of the Book Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac: Collection of Short Stories: The book features a collection of acclaimed short stories by Honoré de Balzac. Vivid Storytelling and Character Development: The stories showcase Balzac's incredible talent for vivid storytelling and character development. Useful for Literature Enthusiasts: The book is useful for fans of classical literature and those interested in the works of Balzac. Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright who is regarded as one of the greatest writers of Western literature. His book, Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac, is highly regarded for its captivating storytelling and rich language. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Dictators and Tyrants Alan Axelrod, Charles Phillips, 1995 Profiles the individuals who took history into their hands to gain control of a people, an empire or a state, from the pharoahs of ancient Egypt to Saddam Hussein in our own time |
| an infamous dictator in history: How to Be a Dictator Frank Dikötter, 2019-09-05 'Brilliant' NEW STATESMAN, BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'Enlightening and a good read' SPECTATOR 'Moving and perceptive' NEW STATESMAN Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, Ceausescu, Mengistu of Ethiopia and Duvalier of Haiti. No dictator can rule through fear and violence alone. Naked power can be grabbed and held temporarily, but it never suffices in the long term. A tyrant who can compel his own people to acclaim him will last longer. The paradox of the modern dictator is that he must create the illusion of popular support. Throughout the twentieth century, hundreds of millions of people were condemned to enthusiasm, obliged to hail their leaders even as they were herded down the road to serfdom. In How to Be a Dictator, Frank Dikötter returns to eight of the most chillingly effective personality cults of the twentieth century. From carefully choreographed parades to the deliberate cultivation of a shroud of mystery through iron censorship, these dictators ceaselessly worked on their own image and encouraged the population at large to glorify them. At a time when democracy is in retreat, are we seeing a revival of the same techniques among some of today's world leaders? This timely study, told with great narrative verve, examines how a cult takes hold, grows, and sustains itself. It places the cult of personality where it belongs, at the very heart of tyranny. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Tyrants Nigel Cawthorne, 2013-01-02 I have committed many acts of cruelty and had an incalculable number of men killed, never knowing whether what I did was right. But I am indifferent to what people think of me. - Genghis Khan A spine-chilling chronicle of dictators and their crimes against humanity, Tyrants introduces the most bloodthirsty madmen - and women - ever to wield power over their unfortunate fellow human beings. From Herod the Great, persecutor of the infant Jesus, to Adolf Hitler, mass murderer and instigator of the most devastating war the world has ever known, this book examines history's most infamous despots and tells in vivid detail the story of the lives they led, their ruthless climb to the top and the destruction and sorrow they left in their wake. Unflinching in its coverage, Tyrants is a gripping and compelling portrait of the darker side of politics and power, revealing the strange and grisly stories behind the world's most infamous autocrats. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Tyrants David Wallechinsky, 2009-10-13 Today more than ever, international headlines are dominated by dispatches from the many dictatorships that still dot the globe. Although Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been deposed, North Korea's Kim Jong-il continues to attract attention on the world stage; at the same time, other dictatorships, led by royal families, military juntas, and single political parties, persist in repressing and brutalizing their citizens without ever attracting anything like Saddam's or Kim Jong-il's level of international attention. In this fascinating, eye-opening read, New York Times bestselling author David Wallechinsky offers in-depth portraits of each of the twenty worst dictators -- and the governments they head -- currently in power: exposing their crimes, and revealing their strange personalities and mysterious backgrounds. Tyrants also reveals the extent that foreign corporations and governments support these tyrants despite their policies. Timely and provocative, crafted with the popular touch that has made Wallechinsky a bestselling author, Tyrants will awaken you to the criminal regimes of the present -- and pose challenging questions about America's role in curbing (or promoting) their power in the future. The Tyrant Hall of Shame includes: Kim Jong-il/North Korea Hu Jintao/China Seyed Ali Khamenei/Iran King Abdullah/Saudi Arabia Muammar al-Qaddafi/Libya Omar al-Bashir/Sudan Islam Karimov/Uzbekistan Saparmurat Niyazov/Turkmenistan Fidel Castro/Cuba |
| an infamous dictator in history: Dictators' Dinners Victoria Clark, Melissa Scott, 2020-03 What did dictators eat? Sometimes simply obscene amounts of the best their nations could offer, but more often their humble origins, or embarrassing medical conditions, or simple lack of interest in food meant their tastes were unpretentious--ranging from human flesh, to raw garlic salad, to Quality Street. Here we learn of their foibles, their eccentricities and their frequent terror of poisoning--something no number of food tasters was ever able to assuage. For a selection of 25 former national figureheads across the world, each section comprises an outline of the dictator's history, a short essay on their particular eating habits, table manners, digestive systems etc. and one or two of their favorite recipes. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini Bruce F. Pauley, 2014-09-15 The fourth edition of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century presents an innovative comparison of the origins, development, and demise of the three forms of totalitarianism that emerged in twentieth-century Europe. Represents the only book that systematically compares all three infamous dictators of the twentieth century Provides the latest scholarship on the wartime goals of Hitler and Stalin as well as new information on the disintegration of the Soviet empire Compares the early lives of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, their ideologies, rise to and consolidation of power, and the organization and workings of their dictatorships Features topics organized by themes rather than strictly chronologically Includes a wealth of visual material to support the text, as well as a thorough Bibliographical Essay compiled by the author |
| an infamous dictator in history: American Dictators Steven Hart, 2013-10-25 One man was tongue-tied and awkward around women, in many ways a mama's boy at heart, although his reputation for thuggery was well earned. The other was a playboy, full of easy charm and ready jokes, his appetite for high living a matter of public record. One man tolerated gangsters and bootleggers as long as they paid their dues to his organization. The other was effectively a gangster himself, so crooked that he hosted a national gathering of America's most ruthless killers. One man never drank alcohol. The other, from all evidence, seldom drank anything else. American Dictators is the dual biography of two of America’s greatest political bosses: Frank Hague and Enoch “Nucky” Johnson. Packed with compelling information and written in an informal, sometimes humorous style, the book shows Hague and Johnson at the peak of their power and the strength of their political machines during the years of Prohibition and the Great Depression. Steven Hart compares how both men used their influence to benefit and punish the local citizenry, amass huge personal fortunes, and sometimes collaborate to trounce their enemies. Similar in their ruthlessness, both men were very different in appearance and temperament. Hague, the mayor of Jersey City, intimidated presidents and wielded unchallenged power for three decades. He never drank and was happily married to his wife for decades. He also allowed gangsters to run bootlegging and illegal gambling operations as long as they paid protection money. Johnson, the political boss of Atlantic City, and the inspiration for the hit HBO series Boardwalk Empire, presided over corruption as well, but for a shorter period of time. He was notorious for his decadent lifestyle. Essentially a gangster himself, Johnson hosted the infamous Atlantic City conference that fostered the growth of organized crime. Both Hague and Johnson shrewdly integrated otherwise disenfranchised groups into their machines and gave them a stake in political power. Yet each failed to adapt to changing demographics and circumstances. In American Dictators, Hart paints a balanced portrait of their accomplishments and their failures. |
| an infamous dictator in history: The Infernal Library Daniel Kalder, 2018-03-06 A mesmerizing study of books by despots great and small, from the familiar to the largely unknown. —The Washington Post A darkly humorous tour of dictator literature in the twentieth century, featuring the soul-killing prose and poetry of Hitler, Mao, and many more, which shows how books have sometimes shaped the world for the worse Since the days of the Roman Empire dictators have written books. But in the twentieth-century despots enjoyed unprecedented print runs to (literally) captive audiences. The titans of the genre—Stalin, Mussolini, and Khomeini among them—produced theoretical works, spiritual manifestos, poetry, memoirs, and even the occasional romance novel and established a literary tradition of boundless tedium that continues to this day. How did the production of literature become central to the running of regimes? What do these books reveal about the dictatorial soul? And how can books and literacy, most often viewed as inherently positive, cause immense and lasting harm? Putting daunting research to revelatory use, Daniel Kalder asks and brilliantly answers these questions. Marshalled upon the beleaguered shelves of The Infernal Library are the books and commissioned works of the century’s most notorious figures. Their words led to the deaths of millions. Their conviction in the significance of their own thoughts brooked no argument. It is perhaps no wonder then, as Kalder argues, that many dictators began their careers as writers. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Latin American Dictators of the 20th Century Javier A. Galván, 2013-01-01 Throughout the 20th century, the emergence of authoritarian dictatorships in Latin America coincided with periods of social convulsion and economic uncertainty. This book covers 15 dictators representing every decade of the century and geographically from the Caribbean and North and Central and South America. Each chapter covers their personal information (childhood, education, marriage, family...), assumption of power, relationship with the United States, oppression of civilians, and collapse of their regimes. The book also investigates inherent contradictions in U.S. foreign policy: promoting democracy abroad while supporting brutal dictatorships in Latin America. Such analysis requires multiple perspectives and this work embraces an evaluation of the influence of military dictatorships on cultural elements such as art, literature, journalism, music and cinema, while drawing on data from documentary archives, court case files, investigative reports, international treaties, witness testimonies, and personal letters from survivors. The dramatic experiences of courageous individuals who challenged these 15 oppressors are also recounted. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Art and China's Revolution Melissa Chiu, Sheng Tian Zheng, 2008 Takes an in-depth look at the period between the 1950s and 1970s, focusing on the formation of a new visual culture and how it was given priority over artistic traditions such as ink painting. This was part of a broader national program to modernize China, and it had a great impact on artists and their work. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Modern Tyrants Daniel Chirot, 1996-05-05 Along with its much vaunted progress in scientific and economic realms, the twentieth century has witnessed the rise of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the history of humankind. Even with the collapse of Marxism, current instances of ethnic cleansing remind us that tyranny persists in our own age and shows no sign of abating. Daniel Chirot offers an important and timely study of modern tyrants, both revealing the forces that allow them to come to power and helping us to predict where they may arise in the future. |
| an infamous dictator in history: History's 9 Most Insane Rulers Scott Rank, 2020-05-12 Madness and Power. Can the insane rule? Can insanity be a leadership quality? Scott Rank says yes (well, sometimes) in this fascinating look at nine of history’s most notorious rulers, from the Roman emperor Caligula to the North Korean Communist dictator Kim Jong-il. Rank paints intimate portraits of these deeply flawed but powerful men, examining the role that madness played in their lives, the repercussions of their madness on history, and what their madness can tell us about the times in which they lived. In History’s 9 Most Insane Rulers, you will meet: • King Charles VI of France, who thought he was made of glass • Sultan Ibrahim I, who was driven mad by the sadistic succession battles of the Ottoman Empire • Caligula, who built temples to himself and whose reign highlighted the lethal tensions between the power of the new Imperial Rome and the prerogatives of the old Roman Republic • The Russian tsar who became known as Ivan “the Terrible” • King George III of Britain, who not only lost his American colonies, but lost his mind as well • Bavaria’s “Mad” King Ludwig II, who left the world richer for his fabulous fairy tale castles and his patronage of the composer Richard Wagner Insane rulers did not die off with the last of the mad monarchs who inherited their power. Rank also examines the rise to power of crazed modern rulers, such as Idi Amin, who began as a lowly army cook and rose to the presidency of Uganda, and Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled Turkmenistan and promoted a bizarre cult of personality around himself. Both entertaining and illuminating, History’s 9 Most Insane Rulers is a must-read for anyone interested in the role insanity has played in history. |
| an infamous dictator in history: India's First Dictatorship Christophe Jaffrelot, Pratinav Anil, 2021-04-01 In June 1975 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a 'State of Emergency', resulting in a 21-month suspension of democracy. Jaffrelot and Anil explore this black page in India's history, a constitutional dictatorship of unequal impact, with South India largely spared thanks to the resilience of Indian federalism. India's First Dictatorship focuses on Mrs Gandhi and her son, Sanjay, who was largely responsible for the mass sterilisation programmes and deportation of urban slum-dwellers. However, it equally exposes the facilitation of authoritarian rule by Congressmen, Communists, trade unions, businessmen and the urban middle class, as well as the complacency of the judiciary and media. While opposition leaders eventually closed ranks in jail, many of them collaborated with the new regime--including the RSS. Those who resisted the Emergency, in the media or on the streets, were few in number. This episode was an acid test for India's political culture. While a tiny minority of citizens fought for democracy during the Emergency, in large numbers the people bowed to a strong woman, even worshipped her. Equally importantly, Hindu nationalists were endowed with a new legitimacy. The Emergency was not a parenthesis, but a turning point; its legacy is very much alive today. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Hitler and Stalin Laurence Rees, 2021-02-02 An award-winning historian plumbs the depths of Hitler and Stalin's vicious regimes, and shows the extent to which they brutalized the world around them. Two 20th century tyrants stand apart from all the rest in terms of their ruthlessness and the degree to which they changed the world around them. Briefly allies during World War II, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin then tried to exterminate each other in sweeping campaigns unlike anything the modern world had ever seen, affecting soldiers and civilians alike. Millions of miles of Eastern Europe were ruined in their fight to the death, millions of lives sacrificed. Laurence Rees has met more people who had direct experience of working for Hitler and Stalin than any other historian. Using their evidence he has pieced together a compelling comparative portrait of evil, in which idealism is polluted by bloody pragmatism, and human suffering is used casually as a political tool. It's a jaw-dropping description of two regimes stripped of moral anchors and doomed to destroy each other, and those caught up in the vicious magnetism of their leadership. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Mussolini Nicholas Farrell, 2018-11-22 Drawing on freshly discovered material--including correspondence previously unavailable outside academia--the talented writer and journalist Nicholas Farrell has created a revelatory biography of the Italian fascist leader and dictator. How did Mussolini manage to take power and hold on to it for two decades? What inspired Churchill to call him the Roman genius and Pope Pius XI to say he was sent by Providence? And how did Mussolini successfully curtail democracy without using mass murder to stay in command? Farrell answers these questions and more, focusing particularly on Mussolini's fatal error: his alliance with Hitler, whom he despised. Anyone interested in history, politics, and World War II will encounter an intriguing and startling picture of one of the 20th century's key figures. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Mussolini's War John Gooch, 2020-12-01 A remarkable new history evoking the centrality of Italy to World War II, outlining the brief rise and triumph of the Fascists, followed by the disastrous fall of the Italian military campaign. While staying closely aligned with Hitler, Mussolini remained carefully neutral until the summer of 1940. At that moment, with the wholly unexpected and sudden collapse of the French and British armies, Mussolini declared war on the Allies in the hope of making territorial gains in southern France and Africa. This decision proved a horrifying miscalculation, dooming Italy to its own prolonged and unwinnable war, immense casualties, and an Allied invasion in 1943 that ushered in a terrible new era for the country. John Gooch's new history is the definitive account of Italy's war experience. Beginning with the invasion of Abyssinia and ending with Mussolini's arrest, Gooch brilliantly portrays the nightmare of a country with too small an industrial sector, too incompetent a leadership and too many fronts on which to fight. Everywhere—whether in the USSR, the Western Desert, or the Balkans—Italian troops found themselves against either better-equipped or more motivated enemies. The result was a war entirely at odds with the dreams of pre-war Italian planners—a series of desperate improvisations against an allied force who could draw on global resources, and against whom Italy proved helpless. |
| an infamous dictator in history: The Woman Who Shot Mussolini Frances Stonor Saunders, 2011-03-29 The astonishing untold story of a woman who tried to stop the rise of Fascism and change the course of history At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 7, 1926, a woman stepped out of the crowd on Rome's Campidoglio Square. Less than a foot in front of her stood Benito Mussolini. As he raised his arm to give the Fascist salute, the woman raised hers and shot him at point-blank range. Mussolini escaped virtually unscathed, cheered on by practically the whole world. Violet Gibson, who expected to be thanked for her action, was arrested, labeled a crazy Irish spinster and a half-mad mystic—and promptly forgotten. Now, in an elegant work of reconstruction, Frances Stonor Saunders retrieves this remarkable figure from the lost historical record. She examines Gibson's aristocratic childhood in the Dublin elite, with its debutante balls and presentations at court; her engagement with the critical ideas of the era—pacifism, mysticism, and socialism; her completely overlooked role in the unfolding drama of Fascism and the cult of Mussolini; and her response to a new and dangerous age when anything seemed possible but everything was at stake. In a grand tragic narrative, full of suspense and mystery, conspiracy and backroom diplomacy, Stonor Saunders vividly resurrects the life and times of a woman who sought to forestall catastrophe, whatever the cost. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Idi Amin Mark Leopold, 2020-11-03 The first serious full-length biography of modern Africa's most famous dictator Sharply written, forensically researched. . . . A meticulous re-examination of Amin's life, producing a narrative packed with original evidence, and one that strives at all times to be scrupulously well balanced. --Paul Kenyon, The Sunday Times, London Idi Amin began his career in the British army in colonial Uganda, and worked his way up the ranks before seizing power in a British-backed coup in 1971. He built a violent and unstable dictatorship, ruthlessly eliminating perceived enemies and expelling Uganda's Asian population as the country plunged into social and economic chaos. In this powerful and provocative new account, Mark Leopold places Amin's military background and close relationship with the British state at the heart of the story. He traces the interwoven development of Amin's career and his popular image as an almost supernaturally evil monster, demonstrating the impossibility of fully distinguishing the truth from the many myths surrounding the dictator. Using an innovative biographical approach, Leopold reveals how Amin was, from birth, deeply rooted in the history of British colonial rule, how his rise was a legacy of imperialism, and how his monstrous image was created. |
| an infamous dictator in history: The Most Evil Dictators in History Shelley Klein, 2004 Herod the great, Genghis Khan, Shaka Zulu, Josep Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Tse-Tung, Anastasio Garcia Somoza, Francois Papa Doc Duvalier, Kim Il Sung, Augusto Ugarte Pinochet, Nicolae Ceausescu, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Mussolini Denis Mack Smith, 2002-10-01 “The particular merit of Mack Smith's Mussolini is that it reveals his extraordinary blood-thirstiness...combined with an equally extraordinary incompetence...one of the most severe indictments of Mussolini ever penned.”—Sunday Times. An unflinching portrait of a supreme opportunist. Although Mussolini considered himself a man of destiny, he program consisted of little more than aggression overseas, suppression at home, and an aping of Hitler's racial laws. In the end, that “destiny” led to his nation's collapse and his own destruction. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Top 5 Dictators of The World Kalyani Mookherji, 2021-01-19 Explore the dark and tumultuous history of the 20th century with Top 5 Dictators of the World by Kalyani Mookherji, a compelling and insightful examination of some of the most notorious authoritarian rulers who left an indelible mark on their nations and the world at large. Join Kalyani Mookherji as she delves into the lives and legacies of five of the most infamous dictators in modern history, whose reigns were marked by tyranny, oppression, and widespread human rights abuses. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, Mookherji offers readers a sobering glimpse into the rise to power, reign of terror, and eventual downfall of these despotic rulers. Delve into the ruthless regime of each dictator as Mookherji explores the methods they used to seize and maintain power, from propaganda and censorship to violence and repression. From Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany to Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, readers gain insight into the brutal tactics and totalitarian ideologies that defined their rule. Experience the human cost of dictatorship as Mookherji chronicles the suffering and resistance of those who dared to oppose these tyrants. From political dissidents to ethnic minorities, readers encounter the stories of individuals who risked everything to resist oppression and fight for freedom in the face of overwhelming odds. Consider the lasting impact of these dictators on their nations and the world as Mookherji examines their legacies and the ongoing struggle for justice and accountability in the aftermath of their rule. From the scars of war and genocide to the challenges of rebuilding societies torn apart by dictatorship, readers gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of political power and its consequences. With its blend of history, politics, and human drama, Top 5 Dictators of the World offers a timely reminder of the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of remaining vigilant in the defense of democracy and human rights. Whether you're a student of history, a concerned citizen, or simply curious about the darker chapters of our past, this compelling book provides valuable insights into the nature of dictatorship and its impact on the world. Don't miss your chance to explore the rise and fall of some of history's most infamous dictators with Kalyani Mookherji's gripping account. Order your copy today and confront the realities of tyranny and oppression in the modern world. |
| an infamous dictator in history: How to Feed a Dictator Witold Szablowski, 2020-04-28 “Amazing stories . . . Intimate portraits of how [these five ruthless leaders] were at home and at the table.” —Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday Anthony Bourdain meets Kapuściński in this chilling look from within the kitchen at the appetites of five of the twentieth century's most infamous dictators, by the acclaimed author of Dancing Bears and What’s Cooking in the Kremlin What was Pol Pot eating while two million Cambodians were dying of hunger? Did Idi Amin really eat human flesh? And why was Fidel Castro obsessed with one particular cow? Traveling across four continents, from the ruins of Iraq to the savannahs of Kenya, Witold Szabłowski tracked down the personal chefs of five dictators known for the oppression and massacre of their own citizens—Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Uganda’s Idi Amin, Albania’s Enver Hoxha, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, and Cambodia’s Pol Pot—and listened to their stories over sweet-and-sour soup, goat-meat pilaf, bottles of rum, and games of gin rummy. Dishy, deliciously readable, and dead serious, How to Feed a Dictator provides a knife’s-edge view of life under tyranny. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Talk of the Devil Riccardo Orizio, 2004-03-01 Inspired by newspaper clippings he had kept about two former African dictators accused of cannibalism, journalist Riccardo Orizio set out to track down tyrants around the world who had fallen from power—to see if they had gained any perspective on their actions, or if their lives and thoughts could shed any light on our own. The seven encounters chronicled in Talk of the Devil reveal Orizio’s gift as an observer and his skill at getting people to reveal themselves. They are also, each of them, memorable stories in their own right. Thanks to his conversion to Islam, the unrepentant Idi Amin lives in exile in Saudi Arabia and laughs off his murderous past while still attempting to meddle in Uganda. Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the bloody former emperor of Central Africa, boasts astonishingly that Pope Paul VI had nominated him as the thirteenth apostle of the Catholic Church. Nexhmije Hoxha defends her husband’s brutal Stalinist regime from her Albanian prison cell and proudly explains how it worked. Paris-based Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier—in his first interview since fleeing Haiti in 1986—speaks about voodoo and the women of his life, and laments the loss of his fortune. Colonel Mengistu Haile-Mariam of Ethiopia, Mira Markovic (Slobodan Milosevic’s wife), and General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the former Polish head of state, all claim, in one way or another, that history will do them justice. By turns chilling and comical, rational and absurd, Talk of the Devil brings back into focus forgotten history and people we have viewed as evil incarnate. Stripped of their power and titles, they are oddly human, and in Orizio’s hands, their stories, and his own, are compulsively readable. |
| an infamous dictator in history: IBM and the Holocaust Edwin Black, 2021-05-15 |
| an infamous dictator in history: Zabiba and the King Saddam Hussein, 2004 This is an allegorical love story set in the mid-600s to the early 700s between a mighty king (Saddam) and a simple, yet beautiful commoner named Zabiba (the Iraqi people). Zabiba is married to a cruel and unloving husband (the United States) who forces himself upon her.--P. [4] of cover. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Julius Caesar William Shakespeare, 2010-02-12 What actions are justified when the fate of a nation hangs in the balance, and who can see the best path ahead? Julius Caesar has led Rome successfully in the war against Pompey and returns celebrated and beloved by the people. Yet in the senate fears intensify that his power may become supreme and threaten the welfare of the republic. A plot for his murder is hatched by Caius Cassius who persuades Marcus Brutus to support him. Though Brutus has doubts, he joins Cassius and helps organize a group of conspirators that assassinate Caesar on the Ides of March. But, what is the cost to a nation now erupting into civil war? A fascinating study of political power, the consequences of actions, the meaning of loyalty and the false motives that guide the actions of men, Julius Caesar is action packed theater at its finest. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung Mao Tse-Tung, Mao Zedong, 2013-04-16 Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung' is a volume of selected statements taken from the speeches and writings by Mao Mao Tse-Tung, published from 1964 to 1976. It was often printed in small editions that could be easily carried and that were bound in bright red covers, which led to its western moniker of the 'Little Red Book'. It is one of the most printed books in history, and will be of considerable value to those with an interest in Mao Tse-Tung and in the history of the Communist Party of China. The chapters of this book include: 'The Communist Party', 'Classes and Class Struggle', 'Socialism and Communism', 'The Correct Handling of Contradictions Among The People', 'War and Peace', 'Imperialism and All Reactionaries ad Paper Tigers', 'Dare to Struggle and Dare to Win', et cetera. We are republishing this antiquarian volume now complete with a new prefatory biography of Mao Tse-Tung. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Mussolini Ray Moseley, 2004 Chronicles the last twenty months of the despot's life, beginning with his July 1943 arrest and overthrow. Rescued by Germans and forced by Hitler to resume the reins of leadership soon thereafter, the tyrant was an utterly miserable figure in the grip of anger, shame and depression. |
| an infamous dictator in history: In the Time of the Butterflies Julia Alvarez, 2010-01-12 Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, internationally bestselling author and literary icon Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies is beautiful, heartbreaking and alive ... a lyrical work of historical fiction based on the story of the Mirabal sisters, revolutionary heroes who had opposed and fought against Trujillo. (Concepción de León, New York Times) Alvarez’s new novel, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, is coming April 2, 2024. Pre-order now! It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. It doesn’t have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposas—the Butterflies. In this extraordinary novel, the voices of all four sisters--Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and the survivor, Dedé--speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from secret crushes to gunrunning, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. Through the art and magic of Julia Alvarez’s imagination, the martyred Butterflies live again in this novel of courage and love, and the human costs of political oppression. Alvarez helped blaze the trail for Latina authors to break into the literary mainstream, with novels like In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents winning praise from critics and gracing best-seller lists across the Americas.—Francisco Cantú, The New York Times Book Review This Julia Alvarez classic is a must-read for anyone of Latinx descent. —Popsugar.com A gorgeous and sensitive novel . . . A compelling story of courage, patriotism and familial devotion. —People Shimmering . . . Valuable and necessary. —Los Angeles Times A magnificent treasure for all cultures and all time.” —St. Petersburg Times Alvarez does a remarkable job illustrating the ruinous effect the 30-year dictatorship had on the Dominican Republic and the very real human cost it entailed.—Cosmopolitan.com |
| an infamous dictator in history: Mein Kampf Adolf Hitler, 2024-02-26 Madman, tyrant, animal—history has given Adolf Hitler many names. In Mein Kampf (My Struggle), often called the Nazi bible, Hitler describes his life, frustrations, ideals, and dreams. Born to an impoverished couple in a small town in Austria, the young Adolf grew up with the fervent desire to become a painter. The death of his parents and outright rejection from art schools in Vienna forced him into underpaid work as a laborer. During the First World War, Hitler served in the infantry and was decorated for bravery. After the war, he became actively involved with socialist political groups and quickly rose to power, establishing himself as Chairman of the National Socialist German Worker's party. In 1924, Hitler led a coalition of nationalist groups in a bid to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich. The infamous Munich Beer-hall putsch was unsuccessful, and Hitler was arrested. During the nine months he was in prison, an embittered and frustrated Hitler dictated a personal manifesto to his loyal follower Rudolph Hess. He vented his sentiments against communism and the Jewish people in this document, which was to become Mein Kampf, the controversial book that is seen as the blue-print for Hitler's political and military campaign. In Mein Kampf, Hitler describes his strategy for rebuilding Germany and conquering Europe. It is a glimpse into the mind of a man who destabilized world peace and pursued the genocide now known as the Holocaust. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin The History Hour, 2019-01-26 Read Biographies of two predator leadersDownload for FREE on Kindle Unlimited + Free Bonus Inside!Read on your Computer, Mac, Smartphone, Kindle Reader, iPad, or Tablet.Adolf Hitler was a German politician, demagogue, and Pan-German revolutionary, who was the leader of the Nazi Party, Chancellor of Germany and Führer (Leader) of Nazi Germany. As dictator, Hitler initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland and was central to the Holocaust.Inside you'll read about Adolf's Paternal and Maternal roots A troubled childhood Joined the forces of World War I Chancellor Hitler Night of the long knives Fuhrer Hitler World War II and full effect The end is nigh And much more!Hitler gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting Pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and Nazi propaganda. He frequently denounced international capitalism and communism as being part of a Jewish conspiracy.Initially presiding over an oligarchic one-party regime that governed by plurality, Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili became the de facto dictator of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin raised funds for Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, kidnappings, and protection rackets. Repeatedly arrested, he underwent several internal exiles.Inside you'll read about From Georgia with rage Winds of change begin to blow Warfare Purges The great terror The Great Patriotic War Victory and aftermath Cold War All things must end And much more!To eradicate those regarded as enemies of the working class, Stalin instituted the Great Purge in which over a million were imprisoned and at least 700,000 were executed from 1934 to 1939. In 1939 Stalin's government signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany. Germany ended the pact by invading the Soviet Union in 1941. The Soviet Red Army halted the German incursion and captured Berlin in 1945, ending World War II in Europe. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Encyclopaedia Britannica Hugh Chisholm, 1910 This eleventh edition was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time and it is considered to be a landmark encyclopaedia for scholarship and literary style. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Hitler's Second Book Adolf Hitler, 2023-06 A new translation of the Nazi leader's second book, unpublished in his lifetime, on foreign affairs and other matters. Translated into English, introduced and now with over 90 footnotes contextualizing and explaining references in the text for the present-day reader. Written in 1928 at the height of a political crisis between Fascist Italy and Weimar Germany over the region of South Tyrol, Hitler meant this book as an explanation of his position on that matter-namely that friendship with Italy was more important than German control over the region. The manuscript however quickly expanded into a general overview of what German foreign policy should be and then expounded on some other ideas from his first book, Mein Kampf. Before the book could be published, Hitler and his party were plunged into a series of elections which lasted deep into 1932, and, which ultimately resulted in his coming to power in January 1933. There was then no need for the book to be published, and only two copies of the draft remained, one in Hitler's safe in Berchtesgaden and another in the safe of his Munich publisher. It was the latter manuscript which was seized by American forces at the end of the Second World War, and which ended up being misclassified as a draft of his first book until 1958, when an alert American archivist realized it was the infamous missing second book. Topics covered in this book include: The South Tyrol question; Peace and war as means of waging the struggle; Morality of conquest; Export trade vanishing as other nations modernize; Weapons on hand no gauge of national strength-National will the decisive factor; Leadership superior to mass democracy; Ideas valueless unless translated into action; German colonial policy a blunder, led to conflict with England; America has upset balance of power; American racial immigration policies; Italy promising as German ally; and much more. Also contains in a new appendix the article How America Entered the War, by F.W. Elven, correspondent of the Münchener Neuesten Nachrichten, June 1928, to which Hitler referred in the body of the manuscript and which he intended to be added to the book. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Maoism Julia Lovell, 2019-09-03 *** WINNER OF THE 2019 CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2019 SHORTLISTED FOR THE NAYEF AL-RODHAN PRIZE FOR GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING SHORTLISTED FOR DEUTSCHER PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING*** 'Revelatory and instructive… [a] beautifully written and accessible book’ The Times For decades, the West has dismissed Maoism as an outdated historical and political phenomenon. Since the 1980s, China seems to have abandoned the utopian turmoil of Mao’s revolution in favour of authoritarian capitalism. But Mao and his ideas remain central to the People’s Republic and the legitimacy of its Communist government. With disagreements and conflicts between China and the West on the rise, the need to understand the political legacy of Mao is urgent and growing. The power and appeal of Maoism have extended far beyond China. Maoism was a crucial motor of the Cold War: it shaped the course of the Vietnam War (and the international youth rebellions that conflict triggered) and brought to power the murderous Khmer Rouge in Cambodia; it aided, and sometimes handed victory to, anti-colonial resistance movements in Africa; it inspired terrorism in Germany and Italy, and wars and insurgencies in Peru, India and Nepal, some of which are still with us today – more than forty years after the death of Mao. In this new history, Julia Lovell re-evaluates Maoism as both a Chinese and an international force, linking its evolution in China with its global legacy. It is a story that takes us from the tea plantations of north India to the sierras of the Andes, from Paris’s fifth arrondissement to the fields of Tanzania, from the rice paddies of Cambodia to the terraces of Brixton. Starting with the birth of Mao’s revolution in northwest China in the 1930s and concluding with its violent afterlives in South Asia and resurgence in the People’s Republic today, this is a landmark history of global Maoism. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Stalin Stephen Kotkin, 2017-10-31 “Monumental.” —The New York Times Book Review Pulitzer Prize-finalist Stephen Kotkin has written the definitive biography of Joseph Stalin, from collectivization and the Great Terror to the conflict with Hitler's Germany that is the signal event of modern world history In 1929, Joseph Stalin, having already achieved dictatorial power over the vast Soviet Empire, formally ordered the systematic conversion of the world’s largest peasant economy into “socialist modernity,” otherwise known as collectivization, regardless of the cost. What it cost, and what Stalin ruthlessly enacted, transformed the country and its ruler in profound and enduring ways. Building and running a dictatorship, with life and death power over hundreds of millions, made Stalin into the uncanny figure he became. Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is the story of how a political system forged an unparalleled personality and vice versa. The wholesale collectivization of some 120 million peasants necessitated levels of coercion that were extreme even for Russia, and the resulting mass starvation elicited criticism inside the party even from those Communists committed to the eradication of capitalism. But Stalin did not flinch. By 1934, when the Soviet Union had stabilized and socialism had been implanted in the countryside, praise for his stunning anti-capitalist success came from all quarters. Stalin, however, never forgave and never forgot, with shocking consequences as he strove to consolidate the state with a brand new elite of young strivers like himself. Stalin’s obsessions drove him to execute nearly a million people, including the military leadership, diplomatic and intelligence officials, and innumerable leading lights in culture. While Stalin revived a great power, building a formidable industrialized military, the Soviet Union was effectively alone and surrounded by perceived enemies. The quest for security would bring Soviet Communism to a shocking and improbable pact with Nazi Germany. But that bargain would not unfold as envisioned. The lives of Stalin and Hitler, and the fates of their respective dictatorships, drew ever closer to collision, as the world hung in the balance. Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is a history of the world during the build-up to its most fateful hour, from the vantage point of Stalin’s seat of power. It is a landmark achievement in the annals of historical scholarship, and in the art of biography. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Stalin's Genocides Norman M. Naimark, 2010-07-19 The chilling story of Stalin’s crimes against humanity Between the early 1930s and his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin had more than a million of his own citizens executed. Millions more fell victim to forced labor, deportation, famine, bloody massacres, and detention and interrogation by Stalin's henchmen. Stalin's Genocides is the chilling story of these crimes. The book puts forward the important argument that brutal mass killings under Stalin in the 1930s were indeed acts of genocide and that the Soviet dictator himself was behind them. Norman Naimark, one of our most respected authorities on the Soviet era, challenges the widely held notion that Stalin's crimes do not constitute genocide, which the United Nations defines as the premeditated killing of a group of people because of their race, religion, or inherent national qualities. In this gripping book, Naimark explains how Stalin became a pitiless mass killer. He looks at the most consequential and harrowing episodes of Stalin's systematic destruction of his own populace—the liquidation and repression of the so-called kulaks, the Ukrainian famine, the purge of nationalities, and the Great Terror—and examines them in light of other genocides in history. In addition, Naimark compares Stalin's crimes with those of the most notorious genocidal killer of them all, Adolf Hitler. |
| an infamous dictator in history: Happy Little Dictators Offensive Crayons LLC, 2019-11-10 |
Infamous (series) - Wikipedia
Infamous (stylized as inFAMOUS) is a series of action-adventure video games developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3 …
INFAMOUS Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of INFAMOUS is having a reputation of the worst kind : notoriously evil. How to use infamous in a sentence. Frequently Asked Questions About infamous.
INFAMOUS | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
Can an infamous person obtain, or a person become infamous retain, a degree? Celebrity connotes someone that is widely recognised and famous or infamous. This point can be …
INFAMOUS Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster
Synonyms for INFAMOUS: notorious, shady, criminal, immoral, disgraceful, shameful, ignominious, disreputable; Antonyms of INFAMOUS: honorable, reputable, respectable, moral, …
Infamous - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
Someone who is infamous has a very bad reputation. If you become a Hollywood star and find yourself on the pages of gossip magazines for your affairs and addictions, you will have …
Famous vs. Infamous - Merriam-Webster
Famous typically carries the meaning of “widely known,” and is often used in a positive manner; infamous, on the other hand, has a negative set of meanings, such as “having a reputation of …
infamous adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage ...
Definition of infamous adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
INFAMOUS Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
Infamous means having, deserving, or resulting in a bad or evil reputation.The word is typically used to describe people, actions, and events. It’s especially used in the context of violent …
infamous - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Apr 25, 2025 · infamous (comparative more infamous, superlative most infamous) Having a bad reputation; disreputable; notorious; unpleasant or evil; widely known, especially for something …
INFAMOUS - Definition & Translations | Collins English Dictionary
Discover everything about the word "INFAMOUS" in English: meanings, translations, synonyms, pronunciations, examples, and grammar insights - all in one comprehensive guide.
Infamous (series) - Wikipedia
Infamous (stylized as inFAMOUS) is a series of action-adventure video games developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3 …
INFAMOUS Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of INFAMOUS is having a reputation of the worst kind : notoriously evil. How to use infamous in a sentence. Frequently Asked Questions About infamous.
INFAMOUS | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
Can an infamous person obtain, or a person become infamous retain, a degree? Celebrity connotes someone that is widely recognised and famous or infamous. This point can be …
INFAMOUS Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster
Synonyms for INFAMOUS: notorious, shady, criminal, immoral, disgraceful, shameful, ignominious, disreputable; Antonyms of INFAMOUS: honorable, reputable, respectable, moral, …
Infamous - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
Someone who is infamous has a very bad reputation. If you become a Hollywood star and find yourself on the pages of gossip magazines for your affairs and addictions, you will have …
Famous vs. Infamous - Merriam-Webster
Famous typically carries the meaning of “widely known,” and is often used in a positive manner; infamous, on the other hand, has a negative set of meanings, such as “having a reputation of …
infamous adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage ...
Definition of infamous adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
INFAMOUS Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
Infamous means having, deserving, or resulting in a bad or evil reputation.The word is typically used to describe people, actions, and events. It’s especially used in the context of violent …
infamous - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Apr 25, 2025 · infamous (comparative more infamous, superlative most infamous) Having a bad reputation; disreputable; notorious; unpleasant or evil; widely known, especially for something …
INFAMOUS - Definition & Translations | Collins English Dictionary
Discover everything about the word "INFAMOUS" in English: meanings, translations, synonyms, pronunciations, examples, and grammar insights - all in one comprehensive guide.
