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For the most notorious leaders in the history of the world, evil is more than just a moment of weakness―it's a way of life. For every noble king, righteous emperor, and peace-loving president, history seems to serve up a double portion of murderous pharaohs, deranged dictators, or corrupt czars. Thugs probes this dark and twisted side of raw human power―from France's King Louis XIV to China's Mao Tse-Tung and everywhere in between. it's a fascinating peek into the lives of the rich and infamous, the sour crème de la crème. Some, like Herod the Great, earned villainous reputations for slaughtering their own family members and countrymen. Others, like Egypt's King Farouk, were almost laughable in their misdeeds, amassing the world's largest collection of pornography. Then there are those leaders, such as Hitler, who committed acts of such unspeakable evil that their names are uttered as curses. From Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos's bullet-proof bras to African strongman Ide Amin's bizarre fixation with all things Scottish, Micah D. Halpern turns the yellowed pages of history and contemporary news accounts to profile the bewildering, outrageous, horrific, gut-wrenching, zany, and tragicomic behavior of the world's worst leaders.… (más)
I obtained "Thugs" unaware that it was a very basic introduction into the world of dictators. Halpern gives us a couple of pages each of very basic information on men ranging from the Biblical David to Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Leopold II of Belgium, Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi. I don't think I learnt anything new about any of the subjects and, combined with Halpern's style of very short sentences and basic language, makes it feel like the intended audience for "Thugs" are junior high school students.
While Halpern could not cover every tyrant in this world's history, I was surprised by the omission of some; no Bokassa, Pinochet, Duvalier or Stroessner, to name but a few that did not make the cut. Maybe Halpern was eyeing a sequel.
If you want a very basic introduction into some of the world's greatest tyrants and dictators, then this could be the book for you, but I see little use for this otherwise. ( )
For the most notorious leaders in the history of the world, evil is more than just a moment of weakness―it's a way of life. For every noble king, righteous emperor, and peace-loving president, history seems to serve up a double portion of murderous pharaohs, deranged dictators, or corrupt czars. Thugs probes this dark and twisted side of raw human power―from France's King Louis XIV to China's Mao Tse-Tung and everywhere in between. it's a fascinating peek into the lives of the rich and infamous, the sour crème de la crème. Some, like Herod the Great, earned villainous reputations for slaughtering their own family members and countrymen. Others, like Egypt's King Farouk, were almost laughable in their misdeeds, amassing the world's largest collection of pornography. Then there are those leaders, such as Hitler, who committed acts of such unspeakable evil that their names are uttered as curses. From Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos's bullet-proof bras to African strongman Ide Amin's bizarre fixation with all things Scottish, Micah D. Halpern turns the yellowed pages of history and contemporary news accounts to profile the bewildering, outrageous, horrific, gut-wrenching, zany, and tragicomic behavior of the world's worst leaders.
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While Halpern could not cover every tyrant in this world's history, I was surprised by the omission of some; no Bokassa, Pinochet, Duvalier or Stroessner, to name but a few that did not make the cut. Maybe Halpern was eyeing a sequel.
If you want a very basic introduction into some of the world's greatest tyrants and dictators, then this could be the book for you, but I see little use for this otherwise. (