The authors, Alexander Parker and Tim Richman are South Africans. Aided by a cartoonist, they have compiled a pretty good list that contain some surprises. I won't give it away, but it includes a musician, a couple of magazine editors, a big sports cheater, a social media founder, and a good number of mass murderers. The musician (a teen heart-throb) is accused of spoiling our taste.
Written in a humourous style, it makes for an easy read, one or two chapters at a time. The chapters are well-researched, and show more than just a passing acquaintance with the history of the places and people they write about. The lessons to be learnt are also summarised well, to caution us not to let History repeat itself..but of course, it always does.
Naturally, they excel at the African dictators and Diamond merchants, being so close geographically. But the Pol Pot and Mao chapters are no less instructive. So is the Father of the Atom Bomb, Oppenheimer. Ponzi king Bernie Madoff is also given pride of place in a chapter. And Kim Kardashian. In other words, they are unsparing, and don't talk about political animals alone.
A great read, and I am glad I bought it. Worth every penny.
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