'I can't imagine how they whittled it down to just 50 people' - comedian
Nik Rabinowitz
'A fantastic thought-provoking book that renews my appreciation for history. It reminds us how we got here and how we can avoid things getting worse'
Mandla Shongwe, SAFM Lifestyle
A fascinating, terrific read.
Gareth Cliff, CliffCentral
From drug lords, drug cheats and the morally corrupt to political despots and plain, old crackpots - the twentieth century certainly saw its fair share of villains. Be it through politics, war, sport, culture or just their general idiocy, these are men and women of infamy who have steered our good ship Humanity towards the World-War-fighting, smart-phone-tapping age we are mired in today.
50 People Who Messed Up the World brings together the nastiest names from the last century and beyond in one highly unpleasant yet hilarious package. Nasty names such as Stalin, Hideki Tojo and Chairman Mao make up a murderer's row of historically horrible figures, alongside more recent sordid celebs including Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and Lance Armstrong.
Each entry offers a sharply sardonic and scathingly thorough profile, accompanied by hilarious mono illustrations from award-winning cartoonist Zapiro. Treading the delicate balance between cynicism and optimism, Alexander Parker and Tim Richman offend and entertain in equal measure in this delightfully scornful read.
Who would top your list of the 50 people who have done the most to make the modern world a worse place?
From despotic mass-murderers to sports cheats, and from corrupt politicians to truly dreadful celebrities, who has had the most damaging - or vexatious - impact in their particular sphere of modern life?
This line-up of the very worst of the twentieth century and beyond includes the obvious candidates: those who have caused extraordinary damage through their murderous paranoia, brutal avarice, or demented self-regard - Stalin, King Leopold, Idi Amin and the like.
But murderous dictators aside, there are plenty of others who deserve recognition for their role in making the world a significantly more dangerous or, at the very least, more annoying place: terrorist Carlos the Jackal; Robert Oppenheimer, the man who gave the world the atomic bomb; notorious sports cheat Lance Armstrong; and the one and only President Donald Trump, who has of course succeeded in making the world both more annoying and more dangerous.
This perfectly focused spotlight on infamy is illustrated throughout by the razor-sharp wit of award-winning political cartoonist Zapiro.
Interesting stuff - go read it!
