'A gripping and illuminating picture of how strongmen have deployed violence seduction and
corruption' Daniel Ziblatt co-author of How Democracies Die 'A timely analysis of how a
certain kind of charisma delivers political disaster' Timothy Snyder author of On Tyranny Ours
is the age of the strongman. Countries from Russia to India Turkey to America are ruled by men
who combine populist appeal with authoritarian policy. They have reshaped their countries
around them creating cults of personality which earn the loyalty of millions. And they do so
by drawing on a playbook of behaviour established by figures such as Benito Mussolini Muammar
Gaddafi and Adolf Hitler. So why - despite the evidence of history - do strongmen still hold
such appeal for us? Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat draws on analysis of everything from gender to
corruption and propaganda to explain who these political figures are - and how they manipulate
our own history fears and desires in search of power at any cost. Strongmen is a fierce and
perceptive history and a vital step in understanding how to combat the forces which seek to
derail democracy and seize our rights.
