
Books by dictators - fogus
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/08/bad_politics_worse_prose?page=full
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hugh3
If there's a lesson here, it's the dangers of overconfidence.

Most people, it is said, have a novel inside them. But for most people, that
novel is shit. Your average person will start writing that novel, realise how
shit it is, and give up. But if you're an all-powerful god-king, you're
probably gonna finish and publish that novel without ever realising that you
suck at writing.

~~~
fogus
That idea is from my favorite Christopher Hitchens quote:

    
    
        Everybody does have a book in them, but 
        in most cases that's where it should stay.

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pdx
I find myself wishing for a leather bound set of dictator books, translated
into English of course.

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cafard
Don't forget Mussolini's novel _The Cardinal's Mistress_! In fairness, he did
have experience in newspapers, so it is possible he wrote some of it himself.

Mao wrote poetry. A friend who claimed to know such things told me that this
poetry was pretty bad.

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bluekeybox
Had no idea Stalin wrote poetry. His poem listed in the article would fit
right in with the shitty paintings by Hitler.

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ciupicri
Hitler also wrote Mein Kampf.

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bluekeybox
Kind of surprised they didn't include him, really. Haven't read Mein Kampf,
but Hitler's paintings are about as far as bad taste can get.

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pnathan
I liked the tavern poetry.

