"Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present" --Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Professor of History at New York University.

A fascinating and important read on how authoritarian dictators rise to power (particularly in democracies), stay in power, and fall from power, Dr. Ben-Ghiat compares many of the authoritarian strongmen of the past 100 years to tRump and document their ascent, rule, and fall. Marvelously readable and exceptionally well-documented, she has stark warnings for Americans about TFG and his followers. pointing out that we have played an outsized role in propping up some authoritarians, Saddam Hussein being a prime example. She emphasized how some Americans expected tRump to moderate upon election to the presidency, and were shocked that he did not, noting that authoritarians who come to power almost never moderate after attaining power.

This should be on every American's reading list!