How to Be a Dictator: An Irreverent Guide

by Mikal Hem

A 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 Ceausescu, 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. Other topics how to become wealthy and spend your fortune, sleeping around, 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Humor, Audiobook, Historical, Biography

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 29, 2014

Reviews

[Kuszma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm, ez inkább szórakoztató, mint ismeretterjesztő. Hem, a szimpatikus, intelligens norvég srác hátradől a képzeletbeli karosszékben, miután beröffentette a kandallót, felszisszent egy doboz sört, és elkezd sztorizgatni a diktátorokról. Ne várjunk mélységet, csak egy csomó színes anekdotát sok Bugattival, malibui vityillóval és persze véres gyilkosságokkal. Ha norvég lennék, biztos önfeledtebben szórakoznék Szváziföld királyán, amint leopárdbőrbe öltözve bikákkal közösül, vagy a Türkménbasi aranyfétisén. Mert akkor megnyugtatóan távoliak lennének ezek a történetek, dolgok, amelyek primitív vademberekkel esnek meg valahol az Isten háta mögött - de nálunk soha. Csak hát az van, hogy nem vagyok norvég, ellenben van egy miniszterelnököm, aki rituális kolbásztöltéseken keresztül vuduzta meg a népet (mérget mernék venni rá, hogy így van), és még a gázszerelője is olyan gazdag, hogy egykori tévébemondónőket lízingel magának. Szóval kicsit őszintétlen a mosolyom, ami azt illeti. Lehet, ami Skandináviában vicces, az Kelet-Európában nem annyira.

De igazából akkor engedtem el ezt a könyvet, amikor a szovjet kacsát az egyheréjű Hitlerről szemrebbenés nélkül továbbadja. (Mert Sztálinnak nem volt elég negatívumnak, hogy Hitler náci volt - szerinte egyik heréjének is muszáj volt hiányoznia.) Jó, hát odaírja, hogy egyesek kételkednek benne, de az igazság az, hogy nagyítóval se találni történészt, aki megerősítené ezt a pletykát. Innentől kezdve visszamenőlegesen is elkezdtem kételkedni Hem szavaiban, minden bekezdés elé ingerem támadt odatenni, hogy "ÁLLÍTÓLAG". No most nem gondolom, hogy bármilyen, magát ismeretterjesztőnek beállító szöveg megengedheti magának, hogy az "ÁLLÍTÓLAG" szó jusson eszünkbe róla.

Mert én tényleg minden rosszat elhiszek a diktátorokról, és bevallom, szeretek is róluk rosszat hallani. Biztos vagyok abban is, hogy amit Hem állít, annak minimum a fele igaz. Csak épp nem szeretnék tudományos szövegnek tekinteni valamit, ami nem is törekszik rá, hogy alátámassza, melyik fele az. Bő lére eresztett Bors magazinokra meg korlátozottan van időm meg kedvem.

[Settare (on hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Be a Dictator is a satirical collection of facts and anecdotes about contemporary tyrants and dictators; structured as a how-to book for anyone who aspires to become a dictator. Filled with dark humor, Hem manages to tell disturbing and upsetting facts in an enjoyable manner.

The author is a Norwegian journalist, and the book is originally in Norwegian, but I found the English translation to be very well-done.
The downside is, it's not absolutely historically accurate; I found a slight error in names (In once case, the book talks about something Reza Shah of Iran did in 1953, which is wrong because Reza Shah died in 1944. The event is actually about his son, Mohammadreza Shah, who was on the throne in 1953. It looks like the author has mixed the two names unknowingly). Other than that, as far as I've fact-checked, everything referenced in this book is true.

Nevertheless, I find this a fantastic little book that opens your eyes to so many horrible-yet somehow funny- facts and gives insights you may not find anywhere else. I first came across this book when a friend, who is very 'fond of' dictators, recommended it jokingly. I took his suggestion seriously and I read the book, and now I recommend it to almost anyone I meet. It's not a timeless masterpiece about the history of tyranny, but I think anyone interested in satire, politics and modern history can enjoy reading it.

[Cav · Rating 3 out of 5]

"As a dictator, you have the opportunity to accumulate enormous wealth, write bestselling novels, build monuments, palaces, and cities in your honor, enjoy unlimited access to attractive sexual partners, and wallow in luxury.."

Despite being excited to start How to Be a Dictator, I didn't really enjoy the writing as much as I'd hoped. I think it boils down to a foundational problem with the formatting. More below.

Author 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.


Mikal Hem:


Hem writes with a decent style here, and the book is peppered with many mildly humorous asides and interjections. Plus, there's some incredibly rich source material to work with.

The quote from the start of this review continues:

"...Yet how best to exploit these possibilities? The following chapters offer a guide on how to become and act like a dictator, based on examples taken from some of the best in the business. If you follow the advice contained in this book, you will be well on the road to becoming a notable authoritarian."

Unfortunately, and despite the author's best efforts, I just didn't like the way this one was put together. In short; I felt it had bad formatting. Instead of covering each of the case study dictators in turn, the formatting is broken up into different assorted chapters, and the chapters, into even more abstract blurbs of writing that could have been chapters on their own. The writing was all over the place. It jumps from one country and dictator to the next without skipping a beat. And the entire book is written this way. Completely ineffectual communication, IMHO.

A more effective formatting would have gone country by country, and broken down each one. With a bit of thought, I'm fairly convinced that the author wrote it this way bc there are so many common themes in these dictatorships that covering it this way would have resulted in a lot of overlapping material. However, this format didn't really work, either...

********************

I didn't enjoy How to Be a Dictator as much as I'd hoped. But it wasn't a badly written book, per se, and there's a lot of interesting material covered in these pages. The formatting just did not gel with me too well...
2.5 stars.

[Mirek Jasinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książeczka mogłaby nawet być śmieszna, gdyby tak bardzo nie odzwierciedlała naszej rzeczywistości. Rozdział 1 - "Jak zostać dyktatorem" i 2 - "Jak utrzymać się przy władzy" dość dobrze wyjaśniają dlaczego mamy atak na TK, przejęcie prokuratury, armii i policji, kontrolę nad mediami i ataki na niewygodnych oponentów politycznych. Obecne rządy nie zapomniały też o dzieciach i stąd zmiany w systemie edukacji i w podstawach programowych. Rozdział 3 - "Niech ci oddają cześć" chyba nikogo nie zdziwi. Rozdział 4 - "Jak się wzbogacić" i 5 - "Jak korzystać z bogactwa". Rozdział 6 jest o seksie, w rozdziale 7 nakaz pisania książek, w 8 o ubieraniu, a w 9 o rodzinie. Ciekaw jestem, czy nasi rodzimi prawie dyktatorzy zapoznali się z rozdziałem 10, który nakazuje uciekać póki czas. W sumie lektura nastroiła mnie smutkiem.

[Gema Muchamad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book of Madness! Pemaparan sejarah pemimpin-pemimpin gila yang merasa dirinya telah menjadi Dewa karena tangan telah menggenggam kuasa. Sejarah yang paling menarik menurut saya adalah mengenai para pemimpin di benua Afrika yang kebanyakan menjadi diktator setelah menjadi veteran pejuang kemerdekaan bagi negaranya. Buku ini memberikan gambaran secara terperinci bagaimana suatu korupsi, penyalahgunaan kekuasaan, politik ala Raja Louis XIV dilaksanakan selama bertahun-tahun di suatu negara yang baru lahir atau negara tersebut selama 40 tahun politiknya seperti itu. Mengenaskan membaca seorang pemimpin negara mengeksploitasi SDA negaranya demi dirinya sendiri sedangkan rakyatnya sangat miskin.

Buku ini pun memaparkan bagaimana suatu politik dinasti dibangun dari mulai negara-negara Asia Tengah, Afrika, Asia Timur hingga Asia Tenggara. Memberikan pendidikan politik bahwa politik dinasti tidak pernah baik. Mereka koruptif dan kongkalikong institusi ekstraktif. Lalu suatu omong kosong bila ada justifikasi mengenai politik dinasti. Buku ini adalah kumpulan sejarah bagaimana politik dunia pasca euforia lahirnya negara2 baru pasca 1945. Merdeka sayangnya menjadi jalan bagi seorang diktator berkuasa dengan tangan besi dan keji. Buku ini pun bisa dijadikan referensi bila ingin menambah wawasan tentang perang dingin karena nyatanya blok Barat dan blok Timur ternyata mendukung suatu pemerintahan yang diktator apabila bisa mendatangkan keuntungan bagi mereka

[melmarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manusia biasa saja bisa absurd kelakuannya, apalagi manusia dengan kekuasaan (nyaris) tak terbatas.
Di dalam buku ini ada panduan praktis (Bagaimana cara menjadi diktator? 1. Lakukan kudeta., 2. Dapatkan dukungan luar negeri., dst.) dan apa saja yang dilakukan oleh diktator dari seluruh penjuru dunia. Awas mual ketika membaca bab "Main Perempuan", dan siap-siap ilfil pada pangeran-pangeran Arab yang biasa dipuja karena ketampanan mereka itu.

Penulis jelas memiliki selera humor yang tinggi, dan terjemahannya pun renyah sehingga membaca buku ini menjadi pengalaman yang mengasyikkan. Sayangnya bapak yang kita kenal dengan The Smiling General hanya disebut 1 kali di sepanjang buku, entah kenapa. Padahal diktator dari negara tetangga, Ferdinand Marcos, disebut berkali-kali. Hehehe.

[Isabelle reads a book a day because she has no friends · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear my mouth was hanging open the entire time I was reading this

[Conner Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on a fall afternoon on the shelf in the politics section of my local bookstore. As I saw the cover I knew I was in for something special. sitting there reading the first few pages and its confident nature about the trials and errors of leading my own country to glory instantly made me purchase the book. after reading through it my idea about it is certain. if you love sarcasm and might have a feel to run your own country this is for you. The human element of different anecdotes from dictators of their rise and inevitable fall is simply amazing in all the different fashions to basically guide you to the victory of a great dictatorship. Author Mikal Hem knows what its like to actually live in a dictator lead the country as he grew up in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe found on the back cover so you know he has the right ideas of what goes on. Hem shows with every chapter what mistakes are made so common that even today dictators such as Kim Jong Un makes them being one of the most well-known dictators. Giving tips and tricks of the game of running a country to enhance the success rate of a supposed empire you, the reader plan on building. now the book isn't just a spitting image of a massive masterpiece maestro of a read I may be making it out to be. some of the choices in structuring can be clumsy and confusing where the ideas may lie in the book. also for 20$, it may not be everyone's cup of tea. On this website, I don't see much discussion about this book which is a shame because its anecdote guide like style is unique with its humorous nods of the ridiculous subject matter. I as well enjoyed the process the author takes you through and how it develops much like a real-life coup and takeover of a nation. with the chapters and the subject matter being for example how to get the power and escape when the power eventually escalates to obscurity. my favorite chapters were the strive for power and how to get out. to conclude the novels tone and attitude towards the subject matter may amuse some and may confuse others as it did to me at first read of a couple of chapters. the strongest point is the anecdotes and facts about how these dictators make the same mistakes over 100s of years and all the advice on how to control your country. an honestly good read and not a long one either highly recommend to the historical reader.

[Rıdvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Şunu anladım ki, diktatör.
Kesinlikle diktatör.

[Irwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interestingly informative. I like the sense of humour.

[Haffoudhi Mehdi · Rating 3 out of 5]

بن على طلع ملائكة مقارنة بمجانين إفريقيا و الشرق الأوسط، لكن الغريب إني برشا دكتاتوريات صنعت دول عظمى في أوقات قياسية و بالطبيعة فلست برشا دول في أوقات قياسية.

[AJ Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent tongue in cheek explanation of how to become a dictator and how to successfully gain and use all the trappings of being a dictator. Of course, with lots of examples from the dictators of the 20th century. Lots of interesting facts and tidbits - though I had to take the info with a grain of salt after finding some incorrect info in the various vignettes about African leaders. Overall, decently enjoyable - which I suppose is saying a lot for a book basically listing all of the reprehensible acts by reprehensible people who have thousands (or millions) of lives in their hands when running a country.

[Milan Trpkovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+
Uskoro opširnije na blogu.

[Fernando Paladini · Rating 1 out of 5]

Livro extremamente superficial, parece baseado diretamente no melhor senso comum de um adolescente que utiliza como principal referência isenta a Wikipedia.

A organização do livro é ruim e torna a leitura cansativa. Os capítulos são divididos não por ditadores, mas por características de ditadores. Isso acaba fazendo com que o autor passe rapidamente por nomes de ditadores em cada capítulo.

O autor faz diversas comparações e afirmações sem sentido, de elementos que, sim, embora sejam encontrados em regimes ditatoriais, também são encontrados em regimes capitalistas democráticos ou parlamentaristas.

Descontextualiza e julga como ditadores , baseado em puro senso comum, indivíduos que sequer tiveram poder absoluto dentro de um estado para serem considerados ditadores.

Pode ser engraçadinho ou curioso, mas é uma obra que possa longe de fatos ou de um estudo historiográfico minimamente razoável. Deixou bastante a desejar e me decepcionou bastante.

[Edy Gies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Logan has been looking for a career and life path. We listened to this to find out if a dictator was something he would be interested in. While he found the unlimited power and wealth appealing the possibility of retribution and the likely need to commit atrocities are definitely negatives.

The whole book is sat and irreverent. If you don't like the above style of writing I would not recommend this book. If you're looking for a quick summary of a lot of horrible people this is a great guide.

[Lacivard Mammadova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pillə-pillə xırdalıqlarına qədər diktatorluğun +-u analiz edilib. Kitabı maraqlı edən isə təbii ki nümunələrdir. Dünya diktatorları barədə oxuyub məlumatlanmaq xoş idi (nəsə qəribə səsləndi eləbil). Dili rahatdır kitabın, adamı yormur. Tarix və bioqrafiya sevirsinizsə, kitabı must read-ə əlavə edin. Ara-sıra verilən məsləhətlər bütün motivasiya və inkişaf kitablarını keçər, adam düz deyir!

[MaggyGray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hätte mir nicht gedacht, dass dieses Buch so interessant und spannend ist. Obwohl der Autor sehr kurzweilig und humorvoll schreibt, bleibt einem das Lachen im Halse stecken, wenn man bedenkt, dass dies alles genauso passierte und passiert.

[Teguh · Rating 5 out of 5]

BUKU YANG NGAJARI ALA.

Saya jarang menikmati buku bertemakan sosial-politik, rasanya sejak Pemilu 2014 saya apolítis dan muak dengan opongan politikus. Dan sebab itu pula, tema sosial-politik adalah yang jarang saya tengo. Kemudian buku ini hadir dengan kegembiraan yang berbeda. Penuh guyonan, satire, mengejek, menderet kelakuan aneh-aneh diktator—pun kerabat mereka, dan tentu dilulu (ini bahasa Jawa, bahasa Indonesianya belum nemu yang pas).

Seperti judulnya, buku ini mengisahkan bagaimana penulis Mikal Hem mender bagaimana “keuntungan” menjadi diktator, sekaligus kalau pembaca hendak menjadi diktator bisa mengikuti poin-poin salam buku ini. Tentu cara perama adalah bagaimana kamu hadir di pucuk pimpinan: kamu bisa melakukan kudeta, memimpin revolusi, atau bisa paling mudah menjadi bagian keluarga diktator. Setelah itu kamu harus mempertahankan kekuasaan: dengan menjaga kesetiaan yang sepaham, menghadirkan oposisi yang tipis-tipis saja, membungkam media, dan tentu harus tetap menghadirkan demokrasi yang juga tipis-tipis.

Kemudian poin-poin selanjutnya adalah hal-hal absurd yang dilakukan diktator: gila kemewahan, gila kendaraan, main perempuan dan perilaku seks lainnya (pesta seks, dilayani ratusan perempuan, menyewa pelacur laki-laki, BDSM kepada pelayean laki-laki hingga mati, bahkan bersenggama dengan banteng).

“Kekuasaan adalah afrodisiak terbaik,” kata Mao Zedung.

“Sejumlah diktator paling brutal sepanjang sejarah adalah pemburu wanita.” (hal.107)

Dan paling bikin terkikik adalah poin mengusulkan cara berpakaian, mendesain tata kota, bahkan menulis yang diharuskan kepada diktator.

“Diktator juga punya keuntungan dibandingkan orang-orang yang berharap menjadi penulis. Mereka tidak perlu mengirimkan naskah dari penerbit ke panerait sekadar untuk mendapatkan penolakan yang menyakitkan.” (Hal.126)

Sebab diktator bisa bikin penerbit sendiri, bahkan menjadikan bukunya sebagai kitab suci, bacaan wajib sekolah, atau bahan ujian PNS.

Bukunya ajaib. Dan ditutup dengan poin diktator harus berhenti dan mundur di waktu yang tepat. Sebab diktator bisa berakhir menjadi buronan politik, eksil, tau dibunuh. Begitulah.

Terjemahan Mas Erwan mengasyikkan.

[Miss Chocolate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ova knjiga je zanimljiv, satiričan prikaz najpoznatijih svjetskih diktatora. Kroz ironične komentare uobličene u savjete zapravo prenosi hrpu detalja iz života diktatora koji bi da se samo nabroje bili suhoparni. I zgranula me je, i nasmijala, i štošta sam iz nje naučila. Četvorka umjesto petice jer mislim da bi struktura mogla biti bolja, voljela bih više fotografija, možda neki indeks ili kratki prikaz svih spomenutih diktatora na kraju knjige, a recimo primijetila sam da je Hitler jedva spomenut, čak Mein Kampf nije spomenuta kao jedna od knjiga koje su napisali diktatori pa mi to ostavlja sumnju u način odabira diktatora. Ali sve u svemu, preporuka!

[Ardhias Nauvaly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orang Norwegia bisa ngelawak juga ya. Kirain cerita di sana kalau gak solitude, surem, atau hahahihi welfare-state. Kocak sekaligus ngeri. Meskipun Indonesia cuma disebut sekali perkara Harto dapet Juara I Diktator paling korup sepanjang masa, banyak betul kiat-kiat jadi diktator yang gejalanya mulai tampak di Indonesia. Paling gres sih soal Pemilu ya. Mikael Hem mewanti-wanti para cadik (calon diktator) di negeri demokratis untuk tidak khawatir sebab menjadi penguasa lalim dan mutlak bisa diraih lewat prosedur yang (considered) paling demokratis sekalipun: PEMILU.

[Amy Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished 12/13/2021

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written but not perfect

This book is utterly tongue-in-cheek and that's the best part about it. The author did their research and it was fun to read but it was lacking in some areas. No female dictators? Not one? Really? Being gay was treated like a scandal, which it might have been, but seemed more scandalous (handled carefully) than murder to the author. And everything was late 20th century. I would have liked more. But overall, it was a fun read.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Be a Dictator: How to Be a Dictator: An Irreverent Guide, by Mikal Hem (2017, audiobook 4 hrs 46 minutes). Having misread the title, I’d been hoping for a guide to BECOMING a dictator. Sadly, I’ll have to look elsewhere for that, but once I am an autocrat, this little book will be a fantastic guide about how to act as one. True, there are some great hints about how to seize power, but that’s just a bonus. Mostly, it’s a review of how to act like a dictator, from fashion, spending, housing, marriage (or not), propaganda, repression, lawlessness, and so much more! Truly, this is a treasure chest of ideas about looking and acting like the most important and powerful person in your respective sovereign state.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. Listened to this as an audiobook on Audible. The narrator was great, but I just think this book was bogged down in too many facts! I found myself not listening and having to rewind because the author kept spouting facts and figures. Some of these dictators have WEIRD stories and I so wish it had been written in a more narrative style. Or at least just don’t bog the narrative down with facts and jump from dictator to dictator. For each chapter, the author should have stuck to one dictator to be used as an example and then should have told the story that’s relevant to the chapter. It was boring when it could have been great.

[Bara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tak tato publikace je nejenom velmi užitečná, ale k tomu i pobaví. Vyšla u nás v pravý čas, když to má demokracie ve světě trochu nahnuté. Teď si pozorný čtenář může buď začít plánovat kariéru vůdce státu nebo sledovat jiné, jak šikovně či nešikovně aplikují zprostředkované rady.

Dobrým materiálem na pozorování je například Putin, který začal Ukrajincům rozdávat ruské pasy. Schválně, kdy obsadí Ukrajinu s odůvodněním, že se jde postarat o občany Ruska.

[Bartek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo zacny poradnik. Muszę tylko namierzyć jakieś państwo, które nadaje się do wdrożenia w życie zasad w nim opisanych.

[Lora Covrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trump is off to a very good start.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of what made me decide to rate this book so low I believe lies in the translation. Originally published in Norwegian, the book boasts reviews from from several Norwegian newspapers for its "dark humor", being "light and entertaining", multiple "extraordinarily funny" quips, and so on. While I see the tongue-in-cheek aspect of making a "how-to" guide on being a dictator, this mostly seemed to be a step-by-step guide of example and then pointed out historical facts of several dictators. Maybe the humor was lost somewhere in translation or there's also the probability even though I love Død Snø and it's other comedy-horror movie cousins, I am still completely unaware of what Norwegians consider humor.

However, I ran into a point that made me stop outright. On page 35 of the edition I was reading which involved discussing the Soviets putting the Kim family in place in North Korea, the book was explaining how Japanese occupation propaganda was used to influence the usual Marxist style propaganda. The next paragraph starts with:

Koreans, furthermore, are a unique race. They are born virtuous and have an inborn purity. Therefore, they are also vulnerable. They are like children who must be protected from a vicious world. North Korean propaganda literature is full of naive and childlike Koreans, while the heroes tend to be protective mother figures...

Can we back up? Are we still talking about propaganda? Is this from the author? Is this just me? I have stared at page 35 for a very long time trying to figure out how this flows together and it just comes across as something incredibly odd and offensive.

Doing a quick scan through the the book continues in the same path of what one must do if they are going to be a dictator, but the examples are repetitive, do not flow well together, and the book skews heavily towards North Korea and Africa.

[Nona Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kamu bercita-cita jadi diktator?

Kiat Menjadi Diktator adalah buku yang berisi tips dan trik untuk menjadi dan bertahan sebagai diktator berdasarkan perilaku, skandal, dan hal-hal berlebihan dari para diktator masa lalu. Buku ini ditulis dengan gaya dark humor dan satir. Disajikan pula contoh-contoh dari beberapa pemimpin diktator seperti Kim Jong Il, Robert Mugabe, Muammar Gaddafi, Nicolae Ceausescu, François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, dan banyak lagi.

Buku ini terdiri dari sepuluh pelajaran tentang menjadi dan berperilaku seperti diktator, mulai dari cara memanipulasi pemilihan dan menciptakan kultus pribadi, hingga cara menjadi kaya dan menghabiskan kekayaan dengan cara yang tepat. Tak lupa mengekspresikan kejeniusan melalui tulisan dan cara menghindari digulingkan, diasingkan, atau mengalami akhir yang menyedihkan sebagai diktator.

Kiat Menjadi Diktator adalah bacaan yang menyenangkan dan ringan bagi siapa saja yang ingin belajar lebih banyak tentang diktator di dunia. Buku ini juga memberikan wawasan politik dan kritik sosial yang tajam. Gaya penulisannya yang ringan dan diselingi humor membuat buku ini tetap mengalir dan mudah dibaca meski membahas topik yang berat. Informasi dan wawasan yang diberikan sangat komprehensif, mencakup banyak aspek tentang strategi dan taktik kepemimpinan otoriter. Bab-babnya pun disusun secara logis dan sistematis, memudahkan pembaca memahami psikologi dan perilaku para diktator.

Pas baca buku ini jadi mikir sih, apakah semua diktator itu pria ya?, karena contoh yang diberikan kebanyakan pria. Ada sih yang wanita tapi itu juga istri dari diktator, apakah wanita tidak memiliki kecenderungan menjadi diktator? Hmm 🤔

Secara keseluruhan kalo kamu tertatik dengan otoritarianisme, atau kamu mau jadi diktator kamu bisa baca buku ini. Hehe 😜

[Dogbert Prime · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a waste of time. It's not funny, it contains no new information, and it has no cohesive story. It is more like a hybrid of a high school research paper and a fluff pop culture top-10 countdown show on TV that wastes 60 minutes of your life teaching you nothing new. The book is organized into 10 chapters, laid out like a top-10 list: how to become a dictator; how to stay in power; cultivate yourself; how to get rich; how to spend your fortune; be sure to sleep around; write your literary masterpiece; keep styling; share the benefits with your friends; and, get out in time. You'd hope that the book would offer deep, detailed stories about things that dictators have done in the past. But no, what you get is rapid-fire random bullet-points in long drawn-out prose form. It really feels like a high school paper where your classmate managed to find 156 bullet points about 27 different historic dictators, and had to hack together a report that managed to squeeze all the attributed factoids in somehow. In fact, at the end of the book, you find the telltale bibliography listing all the other full-length books that these bullet-points were culled from. So really, if you actually want to read about dictators and the astounding things they have done, go acquire all those books and leave this one unread.