Patriots and Tyrants

Rating:
Summary: Excellent work on Asian leaders in this century.
Review: The authors take ten Asian leaders from five countries (China, Indonesia, India, Cambodia and Vietnam)and studies their lives and their leadership qualities. After a wonderful introduction of each country the authors attempt to answer such questions as: What motivates people? Is their an "Asian" way to lead? What makes a leader good or bad? Often in each country they take leaders of opposite viewpoints such as Diem and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. Diem was the Anti-Communist leader of South Vietnam and Minh was the communist leader of North Vietnam. The book also looks into why people follow certain brutal leaders such as Mao and Pol Pot. It looks at the establishing of personality cults and how the leader used that to his advantage.