What’s it like to be the son or daughter of a dictator? Not just any dictator, but a genocidal monster on the level of a Josef Stalin? What’s it like to bear a name synonymous with oppression, terror, and evil?
Jay Nordlinger, a senior editor of National Review, set out to answer that question in his book “Children of Monsters: An Inquiry into the Sons and Daughters of Dictators.” He looks into the families of the worst of the worst: Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and so on.
Some of the kids are down-the-line loyalists. Some even succeeded their fathers as dictators themselves (as in North Korea and Syria). Some have doubts. A few defect. All have been rocked by prison, war, exile, and the like. These men and women lead all-too-interesting lives.
This is a presentation that was delivered as part of the 2015 Acton Lecture Series.
Subscribe to our podcasts
About Jay Nordlinger
Children of Monsters: An Inquiry into the Sons and Daughters of Dictators
When Dad Is the Devil | National Review
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism
The Next American Economy: Free Markets or Economic Nationalism?
The Economic Ways of Loving
Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance, and Web 3.0.: Substance or Hype?
How Did Ice Get to India?
Martin Luther King Jr. and Russell Kirk: A Consensus of First Principles
John Marks Templeton Accepts the Inaugural Faith And Freedom Award
The Good That Business Does
Russell Kirk: American Conservative
Virtue and Moral Obligation in Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith
What is Zakat?
Justice Antonin Scalia On Interpreting the Constitution
The Godly Path to Adam Smith’s Liberal Plan
Time Machines from the Past: Old Books are Still Cool
Hope for the City: Neighborhoods, Commerce, and Social Capital
Are We A Nation?
Mass Loneliness, the Loss of Virtue, and the Allure of Charisma
The Economics of the Parables
Hank Meijer on the Global Impact of Senator Arthur Vandenberg
J.R.R. Tolkien's Vision of Freedom
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Regenerative Skills
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast