Talk of the devil : encounters with seven dictators

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Inspired by clippings about two former African dictators accused of cannibalism, journalist Riccardo Orizio sought out fallen tyrants worldwide to explore their perspectives on their past actions. The seven encounters chronicled reveal Orizio’s keen observational skills and ability to elicit self-revelation. Each story is memorable in its own right. Idi Amin, now in exile in Saudi Arabia, dismisses his murderous past with laughter while attempting to influence Uganda. Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the former emperor of Central Africa, boasts that Pope Paul VI had named him the thirteenth apostle of the Catholic Church. Nexhmije Hoxha, in an Albanian prison, defends her husband’s brutal Stalinist regime. Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, speaking for the first time since fleeing Haiti in 1986, reflects on voodoo, women in his life, and his lost fortune. Colonel Mengistu Haile-Mariam of Ethiopia, Mira Markovic (Slobodan Milosevic’s wife), and General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the former Polish leader, all assert that history will ultimately vindicate them. The narratives are chilling yet comical, rational yet absurd, bringing to light forgotten histories and figures once seen as evil. Stripped of power, these individuals appear oddly human, and through Orizio’s lens, their stories become compellingly readable.