In the late nineteenth and twentieth century, with the disappearance of monarchies in many parts of the world, a new autocratic system emerged – the dictatorship, in which all power over a state or community was again concentrated into the hands of one person, without being restricted by constitution, laws or opposition. The individual with this kind of absolute authority was known as the dictator.
Here are the twenty dictators of modern times whose actions have left a strong imprint on destiny of the country they ruled, and sometimes even influenced the very history of the world.
More often though, dictators rose to the power by leading a coup d’état, in which often a weak monarch of government was deposed and instead a dictatorship established. A nice read book to deep into history.

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Contents

Introduction—5

1. Porfirio Diaz—9

2. Vladimir Lenin—18

3. Adolph Hitler—27

4. Ho Chi Minh—36

5. Joseph Stalin—45

6. General Franco—54

7. Mao Zedong—63

8. Josep Broz Tito—73

9. Leonid Brezhnev—81

10. Kim Il-Sung—90

11. Nicolae Ceausescu—100

12. Pol Pot—107

13. Fidel Castro—114

14. Idi Amin—125

15. Sayyad Ali Khameini—134

16. Mengitsu Haile Mariam—143

17. Saddam Hussein—150

18. Muammar Al Gaddafi—159

19. Robert Mugabe—170

20. Jorge Rafael Videla—179

Conclusion—188

Kalyani Mookherji is an alumnus of Jadavpur University, Kolkata  where  she  did  her graduation and post-graduation in English. Having specialized in Post-Colonial Literature and Women’s Writing, she acted the National Eligibility Test in 2001 and for a brief while taught university students as a Research Scholar.
Since 2007, the author however has returned to her first love, writing. After a long stint in the digital world, she is now a full-fledged writer of books besides contributing to magazines. Her thoughts on all the varied aspects of life can be found at her blog www.alittlebettertoday.com where she regularly uploads posts on health, fitness, lifestyle and relationships.
Being married to an army officer, the author has practically travelled the length and breadth of India. As of now, she is located in New Delhi where despite being a busy Mom to a ten-year old, she finds time to pursue other interests in life like music, cooking and travel.
E-mail kalyani_mookherji@yahoo.co.in