shertz 's review for:

How to Be a Dictator: The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century by Frank Dikötter

4.0

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The Wall Street Journal highlighted this book a few weeks ago and it looked right up my alley. The stories of the Dictators were mostly common knowledge, but I was looking for commonalities among them. So came to light; self-loathing with pictures and titles, betraying close relationships to keep everyone in fear, and ties to communism. I guess what I wanted more from this book was the forward and afterword. I would have liked a chapter or two just on these thoughts. The book did get me thinking about Kim Jong-un and Bashar al-Assad, two dictators who fit the mold today. It also made me think who I am voting for in the primaries coming up. I like Gabbard, but she’s against interfere in country politics and has said she wouldn’t have intervened in Syria. One thing for sure is there will always be men (and women) who crave power and evil ways. We, the US, need to intervene to stop this atrocities for citizens who can’t. Good book, recommended.