What do you think?
Rate this book
Evil Masters: The Frightening World of Tyrants
Seven dramatic accounts of ancient and modern tyrants. History is full of evil rulers who rose to power despite the widespread suffering they caused. Though they ruled in different countries and often at different times, their behavior and actions have been frighteningly similar. How did they get away with it? Evil Masters reveals the typical characteristics of a tyrant and then profiles seven tyrannical rulers from the past 3,000 years. The rise to power of each ruler reveals a familiar web of manipulation, fear-mongering, and deceit to get and stay on top. Ancient China saw the rise of Qin Shi Huang-ti, who gained control and glory by melting the weapons of the peasants to make statues of himself. He also suppressed the teachings of Confucius and burned libraries. More than 2,000 years later, book burnings became a favorite tactic of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. Hitler would further promote only his ideas through widespread propaganda, a practice echoed by Josef Stalin in Russia, whose tightly controlled newspaper claimed to be Pravda -- "the truth." Stalin held power through an army of secret police who enforced his will. Similar underground thugs were crucial to Saddam Hussein's rise to power. Dramatic storytelling loaded with information, archival images, and thought-provoking accounts offer a revealing look at some of history's most evil rulers. Featured tyrants Evil Masters is a chilling introduction to the catastrophic consequences of absolute power.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
24 people want to read
About the author
Laura Scandiffio
10 books2 followersLaura Scandiffio was born in Germany but grew up in Ottawa. As a child, she loved reading, drawing, and painting. She and her friends put on plays and created make-believe games in which they could pretend to be someone else. All this imagination came out in the stories Laura wrote when she was young. She has been writing ever since.
Today, Laura lives in an old house in Toronto with her husband and their two children. When not being a mom (and, sometimes, while being a mom!) she spends her time reading and writing books. She loves traveling and talking to people—kids and adults—to gather new ideas.
Laura’s first book with Annick Press shows off her impressive research and writing skills. The Martial Arts Book (2003) offers young readers an unrivaled overview of the history and philosophy of martial arts. Escapes! (2003) is part of the True Stories from the Edge series and offers ten riveting, true stories of dramatic escapes from around the world and throughout history.
Told through gripping storytelling and historical accounts, Laura’s most recent title, Evil Masters: The Frightening World of Tyrants (2005), is a revealing look at history’s most evil rulers, from Nero to Saddam Hussein.
Her latest titles are the first two books in the Kids @ the Crossroads series (2009). Again, Laura uses her extensive research skills to write from the point of view of children who might have lived in the time of the Aztecs or during the Crusades. In a unique twist, the main characters relate their stories in the form of a blog.
To aspiring authors, Laura advises: “Read, and think critically about what you read! Ask yourself, why is it good/bad/clever/engaging?”
Today, Laura lives in an old house in Toronto with her husband and their two children. When not being a mom (and, sometimes, while being a mom!) she spends her time reading and writing books. She loves traveling and talking to people—kids and adults—to gather new ideas.
Laura’s first book with Annick Press shows off her impressive research and writing skills. The Martial Arts Book (2003) offers young readers an unrivaled overview of the history and philosophy of martial arts. Escapes! (2003) is part of the True Stories from the Edge series and offers ten riveting, true stories of dramatic escapes from around the world and throughout history.
Told through gripping storytelling and historical accounts, Laura’s most recent title, Evil Masters: The Frightening World of Tyrants (2005), is a revealing look at history’s most evil rulers, from Nero to Saddam Hussein.
Her latest titles are the first two books in the Kids @ the Crossroads series (2009). Again, Laura uses her extensive research skills to write from the point of view of children who might have lived in the time of the Aztecs or during the Crusades. In a unique twist, the main characters relate their stories in the form of a blog.
To aspiring authors, Laura advises: “Read, and think critically about what you read! Ask yourself, why is it good/bad/clever/engaging?”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 20, 2018
It felt like reading a textbook but was still super interesting.
June 17, 2011
While it's strange to get so excited about such a yucky topic, I really love this book about tyrants. I think the introduction and conclusion are really well done and the selection of "evil masters" was well choreographed to show that totalitarian governments span across ages and in all different countries of the world. The interest level seems well geared for young audiences, appealing to their development and subject areas. The resources for each tyrant include maps and a page of quick facts that are especially useful.
Summary: This book presents the histories, geographic maps, and statistics of seven tyrants throughout history from Qin Shi Huangdi in 245 BCE to Saddam Hussein from a variety of different countries and empires. Drawing on these historical figures, Scandiffio also presents commentary of similarities between tyrants and information about oppressive leaders, concluding with suggestions for recognizing and preventing dictators in the future. Evil Masters presents valuable information for understanding the motivations of many of these real or imagined dystopian governments and the extent of the damage that they are capable of causing based on historical fact.
Critique: Scandiffio’s facts seem to be well researched with the inclusion of her references as well as suggested further reading, a glossary, and a detailed index. Her prose is simply written but informative and seems to take into account a children’s interests and abilities. She neither tones down the atrocities committed by these leaders, nor does she graphically describe the acts they are responsible for, while presenting the men in this volume as humans who were affected by their childhood and the ages in which they were raised but turned into horribly “evil masters.”
Summary: This book presents the histories, geographic maps, and statistics of seven tyrants throughout history from Qin Shi Huangdi in 245 BCE to Saddam Hussein from a variety of different countries and empires. Drawing on these historical figures, Scandiffio also presents commentary of similarities between tyrants and information about oppressive leaders, concluding with suggestions for recognizing and preventing dictators in the future. Evil Masters presents valuable information for understanding the motivations of many of these real or imagined dystopian governments and the extent of the damage that they are capable of causing based on historical fact.
Critique: Scandiffio’s facts seem to be well researched with the inclusion of her references as well as suggested further reading, a glossary, and a detailed index. Her prose is simply written but informative and seems to take into account a children’s interests and abilities. She neither tones down the atrocities committed by these leaders, nor does she graphically describe the acts they are responsible for, while presenting the men in this volume as humans who were affected by their childhood and the ages in which they were raised but turned into horribly “evil masters.”
June 26, 2010
Examining the lives of Qin Shi Huangdi, Nero, Ivan the Terrible, Robespierre, Hitler, Stalin and Sadam Hussein, Evil Masters takes a look at seven well-known tyrants and highlights their common traits, how upbringing played a part in each case, and the legacy of each man. There are plenty of illustrations, side boxes full of info (i.e. date of birth, family trees, brief policy explanations, etc.), maps, and quotes places throughout the text. The text itself is engaging without being overbearing. There is also a final section in the book entitled “Ending Tyranny” that highlights how the U.N. attempts to help countries under such rulers, but why it doesn’t always work. This is a great resource for teens either as an interesting read or as a resource for a project.
I really enjoyed this book and finished it within two days. My only caution is that the section on Sadam Hussein is incomplete due to the fact that this was published in 2005. His section ends with his capture in 2003, and does have any information on his trial or eventual execution in 2006. Otherwise this was a fascinating read and one I would highly recommend.
I really enjoyed this book and finished it within two days. My only caution is that the section on Sadam Hussein is incomplete due to the fact that this was published in 2005. His section ends with his capture in 2003, and does have any information on his trial or eventual execution in 2006. Otherwise this was a fascinating read and one I would highly recommend.
February 12, 2015
This book is very interesting to people who would like to learn about histories most dangerous rulers.It talks about a vast amount of rulers ranging from The first emperor of china all the way to the leader of north korea -kin jung un the ♊.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews