Scan barcode
A review by paperbacksandpines
How to Feed a Dictator: Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Enver Hoxha, Fidel Castro, and Pol Pot Through the Eyes of Their Cooks by Witold Szabłowski
4.0
I recently heard about this book on Jennifer Brooks's BookTube channel and wanted to check it out.
I was not disappointed. I learned a lot about the chefs that worked for world dictators. I discovered that their path to finding themselves as a head chef for a dictator was not always fueled by their own highest hopes and dreams. I also got to see whether or not they could defend their bosses and the horrible things these bosses did to their citizens and to the chefs themselves. Human nature is hard to pinpoint and it still amazed me that Pol Pot's former chef defended all of his actions and denied any wrongdoing on his part. Chef's like Husseins seemed to not have a problem with any of his leaders' actions because they didn't directly negatively impact him or his family directly.
I was also surprised to read about how differently these dictators behaved, from lavishly spoiling employees (who stayed on their good sides), to living off the land in the jungle for years on end, sharing things equally and genuinely seeming to believe in the collectivist dream.
While the information of Hoxha was pretty light, I felt like I got to see another side of the rest of the dictators, one that history books probably won't be writing about.
I was not disappointed. I learned a lot about the chefs that worked for world dictators. I discovered that their path to finding themselves as a head chef for a dictator was not always fueled by their own highest hopes and dreams. I also got to see whether or not they could defend their bosses and the horrible things these bosses did to their citizens and to the chefs themselves. Human nature is hard to pinpoint and it still amazed me that Pol Pot's former chef defended all of his actions and denied any wrongdoing on his part. Chef's like Husseins seemed to not have a problem with any of his leaders' actions because they didn't directly negatively impact him or his family directly.
I was also surprised to read about how differently these dictators behaved, from lavishly spoiling employees (who stayed on their good sides), to living off the land in the jungle for years on end, sharing things equally and genuinely seeming to believe in the collectivist dream.
While the information of Hoxha was pretty light, I felt like I got to see another side of the rest of the dictators, one that history books probably won't be writing about.