A penetrating and incisive study of the fanaticism and foibles of some of history's most illustrious names. From Assad to Nero, Gaddafi to Ivan the Terrible, this volume investigates the minds of some of the most powerful people in history. While leaving some room to describe the amusing incidents and eccentricities associated with a host of men and women in power, it also reaches into the terrifying depths and depravities of minds that shaped the destinies of peoples and nations. Using a unique combination of history, politics and psychology, the book explores how power not only corrupts but deranges.