Were the signs that Putin is a ruthless dictator there all along? How should we deal with President Xi of China? Given the world seems to be moving more and more in favour of authoritarian rule, this is the right moment to seek warnings, and lessons, from history.

The Dictators includes elected and unelected dictators, wartime and peacetime dictators, those driven by ideology and those with a reputation for sheer brutality. How did these tyrants, autocrats and despots seize power and how did they exercise it? And how did they lose it? Very few dictators die peacefully in their own beds. Are there specific character traits that all dictators share? What can we learn from them in order to spot the warning signs in future?

Examining some of the most significant and notorious dictators from the 4th century BC to the present day reveals that there are common signs and conditions that enable dictators to seize power. Through the spectrum of a wide variety of dictators in different parts of the world and throughout history, themes and patterns inevitably emerge.

The Dictators is acutely relevant to world politics today: it is indeed a warning from history.