A lively, brilliant, darkly humorous, and terrifying story of some of the strangest dictators Europe has ever seen.
“A smart and page-turning woven narrative filled with grotesque characters” Misha Glenny
“It will leave you astonished, exhausted, and curious... An unputdownable page-turner” Spectator
“Essential reading for anyone interested in Romania past and present” John Simpson
“An engaging introduction to the rich history of Romania” New Statesman
Dangerously held on the unstable line of East and West, Romania's past is one of the great unpublished stories of modern Europe. The country that gave us Vlad the Impaler and its citizens who consider themselves descendants of ancient Rome has traditionally preferred the role of an enigmatic outsider. But it has experienced some of the most disastrous leaderships of the last century.
After a relatively mild period under the guidance of a submissive king and his vibrant British-bred queen, the country wildly swung. Its interwar rulers formed a gallery of strange characters: the corrupt and mentally unstable King Carol, the fascist death cult under Corneliu Codreanu, the vainglorious General Ion Antonescu. After 1945, power was given to Romania's small communist party, under which it suffered severe oppression, purges, and collectivization. Then, in 1965, Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power. And thus began the strangest dictatorship of all.
Pages: 496, Year of Publication: 1101, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm
