A countdown of history’s worst figures
Nigel Cawthorne takes a brutal survey of world’s leaders and dictators, and exposes their astonishing atrocities. The authors opens with Akhenaten, Pharoah of Egypt, and brings walks us through centuries of the most vile leaders – such as Russia’s Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Filipino politician Ferdinand Marcos, Mussolini, and of course, the most notorious dictator, Nazi leader Adolph Hitler.
I found it interesting to note some of the similar personalities and characteristics the Tyrants possessed. Obviously, many were not just power hungry brutes, but displayed many insecurities. As Cawthorne demonstrates, no one is safe from a tyrant’s wrath, as they will stop at nothing to eliminate any perceived threats to their ultimate power. As cited in “Tyrants,” dictators often executed family members, such as parents, brothers and sisters, to maintain full unopposed power and control.
Different times required different actions, however, the end game always remains the same. During Roman times, emperors executed enemies and senators. Commonly, they required the commended to commit suicide, which might have been a better option than being feed to the lions, as Caligula often did of his prisoners. Caligula would also take pleasure from watching his guards torture prisoners as entertainment.
The brutality of Alexander the Great is well documented in “Tyrants.” He had no quarrels about organizing massacres and selling prisoners into slavery. The ancient Greek ruler declared himself a god, but died young and his dynasty ultimately collapsed. Cawthorne outlines the relative ease Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés had in destroying the Aztec Empire. The author explores the sexual appetite of Catherine the Great, and attempts to set the record straight on her bedroom antics.
In “Tyrants,” you will also be exposed to the gruesomeness of Attila the Hun, Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracula), Herod the Great, Genghis Khan, Nero, Henry VIII, Ivan the Terrible, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte, and many of the brutal African dictators. China’s Mao Tse-tung famously said that political power grows out the barrel of a gun, which he proved time after time.
Who had the most brutal reign of terror? Decide for yourself after studying Nigel Cawthorne’s well researched “Tyrants.
By: Nigel Cawthorne
Narrated by: Richard Trinder
Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
Release date: 10-03-23
Publisher: Arcturus Digital