Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators

This book includes a wealth of information not only about well known dictators such as North Korea's Kim Jong-il and Cuba's Fidel Castro. But also lesser known despots in countries like Swaziland and Turkmenistan. Yet it is not just some simply written "list." Instead each chapter provides an ample historical background that explains the circumstances that led to a dictatorial form of government. In most cases, the current dictator is not just an individual aberration. But rather a continuation of the country's long history of authoritarian rule, as in the cases of China and Saudi Arabia. George W Bush does receieve his own "special section." But the author makes it very clear that he is not an actual dictator. Instead Wallechinsky makes a compelling case that Bush has taken dangerous steps, such as the so-called "Patriot Act," to take away our cherished American freedoms. Furthemore, the Bush administration lied to the American public in order to justify the war in Iraq, authorized the use of torture against prisoners of war and has threatened America's historically successful system of check and balances by expanding the power of the executive branch at the expense of the judical and legislative branches of government. To me these are all abuses of power that are highly worthy of condemnation. Wallechinsky comes across more as a champion of civil liberties than a stereotypically "big government" type liberal. His list also includes the Communist dictators of China, Laos, North Korea and elsewhere, so clearly there is no "left wing agenda" in play. Rather Wallechinsky's purpose is to criticize tyranny and the lack of democratic freedoms wherever they exist and this book is worth reading by any person that values freedom and democracy, including both liberals and conservatives.

I always enoyed this authors 10 worst dictators list published annually in PARADE magazine; so when his book came out I picked it up. Very interesting read. With every dictator the author is sure to give a history of the country so we can understand how the political and economic climate of these countries allow people like these to rise to power. This book sheds light on not only the obvious dictators from countries like North Korea and Sudan, but also the less known ones out of countries like Syria and Burma. The addition of Bush is an interesting choice. He is not even close to being as evil as any of the others on the list; but he has instituted policies that take away the rights of his own citizens. The addition of Hugo Chavez would have been a good. Overall, this book is a good read.

This book would be a mere afterthought were it not for the 21st member on the list: GW Bush is entered not as a tyrant, but as a special case. Most of the other tyrants listed, arguably would be on any list of the World's worse. Yet, even when the author's slightly left-leaning politics (which creeps in from time-to-time) are discounted, he makes a rather convincing if not compelling case for eventually adding Bush to this infamous list. As Wallechinsky so carefully points out, the Cheney/Bush foreign policy, in addition to being ill-thought out and poorly executed, is also unilateralist and based on greasing the wheels of the military-industrial complex -- a collusion that Ike forewarned us about in his farewell address. It seems that under Cheney/Bush that collusion has not only come to fruition, but is thriving and flourishing at the great expense of American democracy and at the expense of human rights and peace in the world. With Cheney as Bush's alter ego, he sits on his throne presiding over the Senate -- and some think that there he is also the de facto President -- grinning like a Chestershire cat all the way to bank with his share of Halliburton's nearly $2 Billion from war profiteering. This bounty is the fruit of what Cheney and Bush single-handily contrived. The Iraq war, as he points out is a war that failed by design. It is this kind of callous cynicism that caused the author to place Bush on the list. Similarly, Mr. Wallechinsky believes also that the Bush war on terrorism is just evidence of a larger pretext being played out. The war is little more than a playground for corporate greed, corruption, and war profiteering. The war on terrorism is just another fear-based excuse for all kinds of human rights violations; political power plays, and a novel way of unleashing right wing religious morality and ideology onto the American people, writ large. For a piece basically designed to give summaries of the bio of these tyrants, this one is surprisingly robust. The author discusses in amazing detail the Bush involvement in subjects such as the arbitrary arrest and detention of both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens, denial of fair public trials, and torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and punishment of prisoners. Moreover, and this is an important point, the author implies that Bush may have purposely skirted signing America up to the International Court of Justice and did so apparently with considerable forethought and malice - realizing that he and Chaney might one day find themselves as defendants before it. Although, I am not big on Bush bashing, this addition of Bush to the list as the 21st worse tyrant was a stroke of genius and has considerable merit. Five stars for adding Bush to the list and making it believable.

This is an easy but interesting read. We can be so unaware of what is going on in the world and books like this one can help increase our understanding of the world. To be honest, I wasn't even aware of at least half of these leaders. Very interesting book.

The book DOES mention our current President George W. Bush, but not as a dictator; just as an example of how some powers, even in somewhat more privileged nations, can be abused. The author merely compared the president's quotes and actions to those of the book's noted dictators. As a matter of fact, Bush is on the 21st chapter of the book (which is titled "A Special Case" meaning he's not included in the 20 living dictators as implied by the title), and at the beginning and end of the chapter, the author clearly states "George Bush is not a dictator". Sure, it's likely the author has an agenda against Bush, but who the heck doesn't? The United States is a free-speech country (so says the First Amendment), and the book was published in the United States. So shame on YOU for being so bias!! You practically spit on your own constitution!! Besides, the main issue the book discloses is the other TWENTY dictators around the world. The heck with Bush's entry at the end of the book! What's important is to know about what the reality is around the world! Just in case, this book is not overly about conspiracy, and tells us pretty much the facts about living dictators that an average person could have never put together just by using the news and internet as a source of information. To simplify what I'm trying to say, this book is smart, precise, and concise. It even tells us about the history of the countries suffering under an abusive rule, and how it got there. But, if you MUST be a typical Bush supporter and not read this book, then fine. Just letting you know you're all going to miss out on a spectacular and thorough book. As it is a considerably short fact-book, I wouldn't use it as a main source of information regarding a particular dictator though, but it's a good way to start learning about what's going on around the world, BESIDES BUSH. Get it while it's hot!!