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Start giftingHow to Be a Dictator
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Learn moreA tongue-in-cheek guide to becoming a dictator, based on the outrageous, scandalous, and excessive behavior of dictators past and present
Who hasn’t dreamed of one day ruling your own country? Along with great power comes unlimited influence, control, admiration, and often wealth. How to Be a Dictator will teach you the tricks of the trade—how to rise to the top and stay in power, and how to enjoy the fruits of your excellence.
Featuring examples from the most successful leaders and regimes in the business, including Kim Jong Il, Robert Mugabe, Muammar Gaddafi, Nicolae Ceauşescu, François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, and many others, this handy guide offers ten easy lessons on becoming and acting like a dictator: from how to rig an election and create your own personality cult to the dos and don’ts of dictator fashion and palace architecture; how to become wealthy and spend your fortune the right way; expressing your literary genius; and how to avoid being toppled, exiled, and/or meeting any other dismal end.
Combining black humor with political insights, How to Be a Dictator is peppered with horrifying and hilarious stories from some of the most eccentric modern world leaders.
Mikal Hem has worked as journalist and political commentator for the newspapers Bergens Tidende, Dagblade, and Verdens Gang as well as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He researched media censorship in authoritarian regimes at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and has traveled extensively as a reporter, spending periods in Africa and the countries of the former Soviet Union. During his childhood, his family lived for a time in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. He currently resides in Oslo, Norway.
Ramiz Monsef has spent several seasons as a member of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s acting company, and he is the playwright of OSF’s 2013 production The Unfortunates. He has also appeared onstage in New York and in numerous regional productions.
Reviews
“Serious subject handled in a most humorous way . . . The details about the reign of small and large lunatics in a number of countries is in the background. But with his special take on the subject, and his relaxed, dry humour, it gets most readable. The book could just as well be read as a lesson in fun facts before a quiz night, as it can be a reminder of corruption, murder, and misgovernment.”
“Light and entertaining. Lots of facts. You’ll want to know more about the dictatorships after reading the book.”
“An extraordinarily funny study of political thinking, serious beneath the surface, filled with dark humor and remarkable facts.”
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