The Dictator's Playbook

Profiles in Tyranny

They were ruthless men with unchecked power, ruling their nations with an iron fist. Suppressing dissent, they demanded absolute loyalty, jailing or killing those who opposed them. They ruled by force of personality, but were plagued by secret fears and private demons. They were dictators, tyrants who shaped the 20th century and left their mark on our own.

From Benito Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin to Manuel Noriega, dictators confront us with some fascinating questions. What drove their thirst for domination and control? How did they seize and wield power? What forces rose up against them or resisted them in secret? How did they lose control in the end