"A nonfiction account of some of the deadliest dictators in modern history"-- What makes a country fall to a dictator? How to authoritarian leaders acquire their powers? Davis profiles five of the most notoriously ruthless dictators in history. The examines their personal lives and historical periods, and shows how these factors shaped the leaders they'd become. -- adapted from jacket

"The best-selling author of "Hitler: Ascent" and "Hitler: Downfall" reconstructs the chaotic, otherworldly last days of Nazi Germany. On April 30, 1945, in a bunker deep beneath the Old Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler and his newly wedded wife, Eva Braun, killed themselves. But Nazi Germany lived on, however briefly. The subsequent eight days were among the most turbulent in history, witnessing not only the final battles of World War II and the collapse...