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Review Quotes:
"An engaging history, designed for readers hoping to learn from the past to create a better future. Well researched and informative"
- Library Journal
Biographical Note:
Ben Gazur is a freelance writer and author specializing in history, folklore, and science. He has written for outlets including
The Guardian, the
BBC,
All About History, and
Fortean Times. His books cover everything from Epicurus to history's strangest deaths and British food folklore.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Ancient History
- Gyges of Lydia
- Phalaris of Akragas
- Polycrates of Samos
- Amasis II
- Hippias and Hipparchus
- Cincinnatus
- The Thirty Tyrants
- Qin Shi Huang
- Sulla
- Julius Caesar
- Augustus
- Emperor Wenxuan
Part II: Medieval History
- Wu Zetian
- Irene of Athens
- Andronikos I Komnenos
- Genghis Khan
- Narathihapate
- Richard III
- Yeonsangun of Joseon
Part III: Early Modern History
- Ludovico Sforza
- Ivan the Terrible
- Aurangzeb
- Catherine the Great
- Maximilien Robespierre
- Napoleon
- Ranavalona I
- William Walker
- Francisco Solano López
Part IV: Modern History
- Empress Dowager Cixi
- Leopold II of the Belgians
- Josef Stalin
- Benito Mussolini
- Adolf Hitler
- Francisco Franco
- Rafael Trujillo
- Mao Zedong
- Nicolae Ceaușescu
- Fidel Castro
- François Duvalier
- Pol Pot
- Idi Amin
- Francisco Macías Nguema
- Bokassa I
- Enver Hoxha
- Hastings Banda
- Ferdinand Marcos
- Kim Jong II
- Saddam Hussein
- Muammar Gaddafi
- Saparmurat Niyazov
Afterword
Select Bibliography
Index
Publisher Marketing:
Explore the tyrants who have shaped the course of history. All power corrupts, but absolute power can turn people into absolute monsters. The true stories behind the men and women who led tyrannies around the world. This is history... but not as you know it.
Leading readers through all of world history, Ben Gazur looks at how tyrants and their regimes have shaped the course of humanity from the earliest times right up until the modern day. From the first Ancient Greek tyrants to those who still dominate nations today, dictators have always been pulling the strings.
In 50 bite-sized chapters spanning thousands of years,
A Short History of the World in 50 Tyrants examines their rise to power, how they stayed there, and how they were overthrown, investigating their lives and crimes. Readers will learn how:
- Catherine the Great seized the throne from her own husband
- Adolf Hitler created a cult of personality to assume complete control
- Julius Caesar met his end under a rain of stabs on the senate floor.
Follow the whims, eccentricities, and evil acts of dictators across the millennia, such as the deadly search for immortality by the first Chinese Emperor, the wily machinations of the Emperor Augustus, and the crushing brutality of Pol Pot's rule.
Review Citations:
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Library Journal 06/01/2026 pg. 96 (EAN 9781789298956, Hardcover)
Contributor Bio:Gazur, Ben
Ben Gazur is a freelance writer and author specializing in history, folklore, and science. He has written for outlets including The Guardian, the BBC, All About History, and Fortean Times. His books cover everything from Epicurus to history's strangest deaths and British food folklore.
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