Customer Reviews

How to Rule the World: A Handbook for the Aspiring Dictator

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Samuel Johnson said "There are few minds to which tyranny is not delightful", and when it comes to this amusing little book, how right he was. Serious students of world domination may start with Machievelli's "The Prince", the rest of us can have a laugh over this.

The chapters are an interesting tempters - they include "Have You Got What it Takes?", which details the ideal personality of a leader; "Career Paths to the Top" which lists 10 jobs likely to lead to world domination (one is a parking inspector); "Advanced World Rule" which discusses among other things founding a faith and "Posterity - Leaving Your Mark" - the joy of large monuments and best selling memoirs. There are enough real life tales here, told very tongue in cheek to make this quite an informative little book, but really it is just a very funny dig at the dictators and autocrats of the world. An agonisingly serious topic no doubt, but very funny here! Enjoy!

Although this book is aimed mainly at men (I'm an 18 year old social princess), it is one of the best books I have ever read on power in every sense of the word.

The difference between this book and others is that it actually tells you the true secrets to success. Andre de Guillaume is 100% on the money when he said that, "power rarely goes to people who deserve it; it must be taken by force". The minute I finished reading this - controversial - book, I noticed an immediate change in my mindset. I have probably gone through the book fifty times by now, and I never get sick of it. My life has changed considerably for the better if only because I now see things from the eyes of a despot.

It's humorous, cruel and unnecessarily violent, but Goddess is it ever true. Feel free to test out the books therories immediately - I have, with impressive results.

You may not want to rule *the* world, but you will definitely know how to rule *your* world and everyone in it. And that's all that really matters, anyway.

This is the ultimate manual for any up and coming dictator which takes the reader step by step through the process of how to become the ruler of a country, and ultimately if you can handle the pace, the world! This book is so good that when I become ruler of the world I will have all copies destroyed so that no one will be able to take my place.

With this book you'll learn important stuff like learning how to watch your back, whilst stabbing someone else's. The secret is not to worry what is right or wrong, only what is effective and other inspirational messages that will take you all the way to the top. This is the aspiring dictator's bible!

Though this book offers little practical advice you couldn't figure out yourself, it's an interesting read. I enjoyed the profiles of famous Dictators and rulers and witty humor of Guillaume. He offers advice on how to get your own political coup and which advisors you should eliminate to avoid conspiracies. This is a neat book to have, if not simply for the novelty of it.

How to Rule the World... sounds simple enough, and with this guide, it makes it all the easier. You'll learn the tell tale signs of whether you should rule the world, set yourself in position so as to takeover and what to do once you are there. You'll learn how to dress extravagantly, where to hide your money, what earthly objects you will need to show off your wealth, and even what to do when you are ready to retire and put the next person of your choosing into power.

All this and snappy little history lessons based on past world rulers and their mistakes and proper procedures. While most book along this line tend to throw in alot of humor, this one cuts back on it, providing just enough tongue-in-cheek to make it a light-hearted affair while getting a history lesson on world rulers. It's not Machiavelli but if you wanted that then you should read that.

Overall, it's imaginative, light hearted, and informative. Well worth buying, Only down part is the artwork really put me off to begin with as it is seemingly done by a child, however, it grows on you and then I think it becomes more appropriate with these caricatures rather than more realistic portraits.

A friend handed me a copy of How to Rule the World, knowing my love of tyranny and long-standing desire to rule my own state. While I found the book to be cute, there is little new information for anyone who has seriously considered the path of the despot. As a light read that can be knocked out within a few hours, I recommend this book as a motivational pick-me-up to anyone seeking the path to power. It is a brief reminder that commitment, violence, and shameless backstabbing will pay off in the long run.

While it's fun to plot global domination and read up on examples of dictators (Hitler, Castro, ...Maggie Thatcher!?!), the real value in the book is its satire. De Guillaume takes every technique practiced by Saddam, Kim-Jong Il and the like, and makes it into something really worth laughing at.

Some of the chapters/tips are obvious takes on famous tyrants (ie, shoot out your window Saddam-style at pigeons) and the general impression of the book is to make tyrants look even dumber than they looked before. Comparing the book's advice to those who are taking it in real life is always uproariously funny and a little educational.

A tiny book with an enormous amount of laughs and one that should be making dictators around the world tremble with embarrassed anger.

This book is historically informative and hillarious! If you've got any secret plans to rule, how to avoid conpirators or how to acquire power and keep it... this is your new bible.

Cute. Good for laughs. When The Great Revolution comes, Mr. Guillaume will either become People's Minister of Truth or be among the first they'll stand against the wall.

Often being referred to by my friends as some future world despot, I was intrigued by an article about this book. So I picked it up today at Borders and I thought it was hilarious. Pretty thought provocking strategies of global domination - to be taken lightly, of course. It's funny to see the book's strategies used to impress the media (quoting philosophers and the like) and then to see them imitated in real life by some clueless idiots. Anyway, haven't finished it yet, but I thought it was worth buying.