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Ben Gazur

A Short History of the World in 50 Tyrants

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Details

Imprint: O'Mara Books

Publication date: 04/12/2025

ISBN: 9781789298437

Subject: Non-Fiction

Category: Science - History - Philosophy

Binding: Hardback

Size: 178 x 129 mm

Extent: 288 pages

Illustration: B/w line drawings

Territorial Rights: World (All Languages)

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Summary:

Explore the tyrants who have shaped the course of history. All power corrupts, but absolute power can turn people into absolute monsters. The true stories behind the men and women who led tyrannies around the world. This is history ... but not as you know it.

Leading readers through all of world history, Ben Gazur looks at how tyrants and their regimes have shaped the course of humanity from the earliest times right up until the modern day. From the first Ancient Greek tyrants to those who still dominate nations today, dictators have always been pulling the strings.

In 50 bite-sized chapters spanning thousands of years, A Short History of the World in 50 Tyrants examines their rise to power, how they stayed there and how they were overthrown, investigating their lives and crimes. Readers will learn how Catherine the Great seized the throne from her own husband, how Adolf Hitler created a cult of personality to assume complete control, and how Julius Caesar met his end under a rain of stabs on the senate floor.

Follow the whims, eccentricities and evil acts of dictators across the millennia, such as the deadly search for immortality by the first Chinese Emperor, the wily machinations of the Emperor Augustus and the crushing brutality of Pol Pot’s rule.

Also available:
A Short History of the World in 50 Failures (9781789296938)
A Short History of the World in 50 Lies (9781789294606)
A Short History of the World in 50 Books (9781789294088)
A Short History of the World in 50 Animals (9781789292954)
A Short History of the World in 50 Places (9781789291971)

Reviews:

In what feels like a timely release, Ben Gazur looks at how tyrants, from Caesar to Hitler, and their regimes have shaped the course of humanity from ancient times to the modern day.

I Paper

Sales points:

  • Features 50 bite-sized chapters: each covering fascinating tyrants from world history.

  • A thoroughly researched and entertaining history of the world: includes both infamous dictators from history and more obscure, but no less tyranical, figures.

  • Fresh new look at history: exploring around the world and throughout time, this book shines fascinating new light on how history is written and reported.

  • Also in the series: A Short History of the World in 50 Lies (Over 100,000 copies sold in the English language), A Short History of the World in 50 Failures (Over 35,000 copies sold in the English language), A Short History of the World in 50 Books, A Short History of the World in 50 Places and A Short History of the world in 50 Animals. The series has also been translated in 20 languages worldwide.

About the Author:

Ben Gazur

Ben Gazur is a freelance writer and author specializing in history, folklore and science. He has written for outlets including the Guardian, the BBC, All About History and Fortean Times. His books cover everything from Epicurus to history’s strangest deaths and British food folklore.

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