This title features nearly 220 biographies covering a curated selection of autocrats and dictators from throughout history. Each essay has been written or revised specifically for this set, including nearly 50 new entries; biographies represent a cross-section of some of the most notorious- yet-influential individuals ever to have lived, and many biographies offer sidebars focusing on significant, related topics and attributes. The biographical coverage in this set is vast. Rulers discussed in this title include: Bashar al-Assad; Alexander the Great; Attila; Hugo Banzer Suarez; Paul Biya; Napoleon Bonaparte; Carol II; Fidel Castro; Chiang Kai-shek; Oliver Cromwell; Samuel K. Doe; Elizabeth I; Alberto Fujimori; Genghis Khan; Hissene Habre; Adolf Hitler; Paul Kagame; Kim Il-sung; Leopold II; Gerardo Machado; Benito Mussolini; Franz von Papen; Vladimir Putin; Anwar Sadat; Jorge Rafael Videla; and Xi Jingping. Each essay is approximately 1,000-2,000 words in length and displays standard reference top matter offering easy access to the following biographical information: the name by which the subject is best known, a succinct description of each person's political career, a synopsis of the individual's historical importance in relation to their autocrats or dictatorial tendencies, indicating why the person is studied today, the most complete dates of birth and death, followed by the most precise locations of these events available. Each essay concludes with a byline of the contributing writer-scholar. The body of each essay is divided into the following three parts: Early Life; Career in Government; and Significance.