Madmen of History, Sixth Edition
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Оглавление
Dr. Donald D. Hook. Madmen of History, Sixth Edition
Original Preface
Introduction to the 2005 Edition
Introduction to the 2008 Edition
PART I: Despots. 1. lvan the Terrible
2. Alexander VI
3. Robespierre
4. Mussolini
5. Hitler
6. Trujillo
Part II: Assassins. 7. Booth
8. Guiteau
9. Czolgosz
10. Oswald
11. Corday
12. Princip
PART III: Hangmen, Henchmen & Mystics. 13. Eichmann
14. Rasputin
15. Quantrill
16. Turner
17. Mishima
18. Torquemada
Afterword
About the Author
Отрывок из книги
A fairly broad definition of madness has been taken as the basis for this book. There are examples of clinical madness, legal insanity, and temporary derangement, but for the most part the characters are studies in over-dedication to an ideal or to a political objective. Some have drastically altered the course of history by their acts, and some have merely changed the flow of the times. Each character has left his peculiar imprint on the history of mankind.
Madmen of History is history, not fiction, although now and then, liberty has been, taken to dramatize a character or an event. What better way to become acquainted with history than through biography?
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Is there a common denominator in madness even though we cannot define the malady? Yes, it is the reach for power. That ingredient can be found in every individual and circumstance we face in this book. It is power for less than benevolent purposes, though often under that cover. The acquisition of too much power invariably corrupts and frequently metamorphoses into madness.
If there is at least a partial solution to the proliferation of madmen in our day and time, it is the international promotion of democracy, and its consequent dilution of power, throughout governments and institutions. Power is based on ego, without which society would founder. But we must redouble our efforts to construct and maintain minds, souls, and spirits that embody moral responsibility. We need regulated egos; madness is not an attractive alternative.
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