Dictator Literature: A History of Bad Books by Terrible People

Review

‘Daniel Kalder has slogged his way through the 20th century’s “Krakatoa-like eruption of despotic verbiage” so you don’t have to… Kalder’s dispatches from “the transnational empire of ultra-boredom” are not only very funny, they also form a quirky, pacey guide to recent world history.’

(Sunday Times, Books of the Year)

‘Full of…wonders, and startling individual facts… An overwhelmingly powerful reminder of 20^th-century misrule, and of just how delusional human beings can be – especially if they’re literate.’

(Telegraph)

‘This wonderfully entertaining book is a cautionary tale about how societies are easily wooed by foolish demagogues spouting gibberish.’

(The Times, Books of the Year)

‘I enjoyed this book a great deal…it’s actually a rather snappy read.’

(Will Self, Guardian)

‘Hugely compelling…Like coming across a planet-sized car crash, with hundreds of millions snarled up in the wreckage: you can’t look away. Kalder has really dug deep into the minds of these infernal texts’ creators, and thus delivers some truly enlightening insights.’

(Irish Independent )

‘Daniel Kalder…deserves a medal…Dictator Literature is a great book... An insightful book, but also a funny one.'

(The Times)

‘Very funny… After reading Dictator Literature you will never look at books with such a benevolent eye again.’

(Spectator)

‘A engaging, brisk, and morbidly humorous haul of the lives and literary pretensions of the murderous wingnuts who defined a century.’

(Irish Times)

‘Kalder's book is an informative, lively and often hilarious account of some of the worst authors who ever lived, doubling as a history of the terrible ideologies that marred the last century. Some execrable books have come out of communism and fascism, but Dictator Literature is certainly not one of them.’

(Catholic Herald)

‘A fascinating study…partly an enjoyable romp but mostly a sombre sidelong-glance history of 20^th-century totalitarianism.’

(Sunday Telegraph)

From the Author

'Even at its peak, Marxism was not that much more popular than crushing men's testicles between hot plates... By 1910, it was much less popular.'

About the Author

Daniel Kalder is the author of Lost Cosmonaut and Strange Telescopes. He has contributed to BBC Radio, Esquire, the Guardian and The Times among other publications. Originally from Fife, Scotland, he lived in Moscow for ten years before moving to Texas, where he currently resides. danielkalder.com