Customer Reviews

Dictators in the Mirror of Medicine: Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin

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This book consists of biographies/medical histories of the three dictators Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin. Of the three, perhaps Napoleon comes across as the better man, but considering the other two that he is compared against, that is not much of a compliment.
What struck me about all three men was their utter ruthlessness and greed for power. Napoleon sacrificed his army in hopeless wars without any remorse, along with Hitler and Stalin. But Hitler and Stalin also participated directly in the murder of innocent civilians for reasons that only could make sense to someone hungry for power and paranoid to the extreme.
Dr. Neumayr reviews their lives, their physical ailments, and to a certain extent their mental health. But by no means is this a book that rambles on with page after page of suppositions and hastily drawn conclusions. To be sure, the mental health of all three is questioned, but were they insane? After reading about the millions of lives that these men took, and the misery caused for their countries, it is even more chilling to know that they knew exactly what they were doing.
All three paid the price for their murder, deceit and immorality. Dr Neumayr examines their physical health, and toward the end of their lives they all suffered from many physical ailments, some directly caused by the stress that their ambitions placed on them. But the suffering they had was as nothing compared to the suffering they caused.
I have also read Dr. Neumayer's three-volume biography/medical history of the great classical music composers. If your interest in famous people goes beyond learning a few facts about their lives, then these books will certainly be of interest to you. Highly recommended!