One of New York Magazine 's Most Anticipated Books of the Fall How far can a single leader
alter the course of history? From one of the leading historians of twentieth-century Europe
and the author of the definitive biography of Hitler Personality and Power is a masterful
reckoning with how character conspired with opportunity to create the modern age’s uniquely
devastating despots—and how and why other countries found better paths. The modern era saw the
emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control
persuasion and death. Whole societies were reshaped and wars were fought often with a
merciless contempt for the most basic norms. At the summit of these societies were leaders
whose personalities somehow enabled them to do whatever they wished regardless of the
consequences for others. Ian Kershaw’s new book is a compelling lucid and challenging attempt
to understand these rulers whether those operating on the widest stage (Lenin Stalin Hitler
Mussolini) or with a more national impact (Tito Franco). What was it about these leaders and
the times in which they lived that allowed them such untrammelled and murderous power? And
what brought that era to an end? In a contrasting group of profiles—from Churchill to de Gaulle
Adenauer to Gorbachev and Thatcher to Kohl)—Kershaw uses his exceptional skills as an iconic
historian to explore how strikingly different figures wielded power.
