How to Rule the World: A Handbook for the Aspiring Dictator (Paperback)

by Andre de Guillaume (Author) "THERE IS NO MYSTERY: THIS IS A JOB FOR ONLY THE MOST UNSCRUPULOUS, DRIVEN, AND DETERMINED AMONG US..." (more)
Key Phrases: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This slim satirical volume purports to map the road to world (or at least great) power from childhood to the grave. Send-ups of everything abound, from pop psychology questionnaires such as "Have You Got What It Takes?" and lists of "Career Paths" (salesman being ideal, since it teaches how to lie with a straight face). After advising on how to seize power, by force or fraud, the tips then cover designing a national flag, managing money while gaining as little of it as possible honestly and arranging your love life so that it enhances your respectability. (This means that your wives and mistresses never meet.) There is even a guide for retirement, should one live so long. The historical snippets have much the same tone, although the portrayals of kids torturing animals to prepare for tyranny and the distinctly Third World flavor of the dictators may not strike everyone as funny. Others may more mildly object to bracketing Elizabeth I of England with Attila the Hun and the Bertelsmann conglomerate with the Mongols. The latter is an insider nod to de Guillaume's alter ego, unacknowledged in the text or on the jacket copy: when not aspiring to thrones, de Guillaume is called Andrew Wilkins, and serves as publisher of Australian Bookseller & Publisher.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
""Tongue only slightly in cheek . . . looks to famous despots of history for tips to help you decide if you really want this sort of career." --Boston Herald


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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (October 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556525877
• ISBN-13: 978-1556525872
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,609 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lets get ready to rule!!!, September 18, 2003

By	Lesley West (St James, Western Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How to Rule the World: A Handbook for the Aspiring Dictator (Hardcover)

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!

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant Power. Just read this book., May 29, 2005

By	Timmie (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Rule the World: A Handbook for the Aspiring Dictator (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have for Dictators in Training, December 20, 2005

By	Eric Ettensohn (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.