Cover Image: Strongmen

Strongmen

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Wittily crafted, describes populism and takes a jibe on the establishment. Well knit and engrossing.

Was this review helpful?

This is a mixed bag and likely that some essays will interest more than others but they are all well written and disturbing in different ways. I especially liked the essays on Erdogan and Putin. Eve Ensler (Vagina Monologues) writes an intriguing fable about Donald Trump which is disturbing in a different way than learning about killers in politics. I liked the different slants which meant each essay stood separate and each despot stayed an individual. This way they are clearly described within the context of their own type of horror. Hard to say this is a fun read but it's important that people know what these people are like.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Frightening portrait of despots. Even scarier when the US President takes pages right out of their playbooks. God save us all.

Was this review helpful?

This short collection of essays is introduced by a structural Marxist summary of the current global political environment. It’s a bit of an inflammatory rant and I don’t think it serves its purpose well. The first essay is by Eve Ensler and is disappointing. It’s a ‘Trump fable’ which I found puerile and so quickly skimmed through it. The second essay, by Danish Hussain, is about India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, focusing on his time as Chief Minister in Gujarat.

The two most interesting essays for me are those on Turkey’s President Erdogan and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. The rise of populist leaders across the globe is worrying and both of these men exemplify their shared tenet of ‘if you’re against me, you’re against the nation’. Putin is seen by his people as having restored Russian pride and they turn a blind eye to his ruthlessness and the curbing of only recently gained freedoms. Both have egos the size of their countries and both are misogynists. Erdogan has stated many times that women are not equal to men. In Russia, husbands who beat their wives previously went to jail. Now they receive a paltry fine which, as it hurts the whole household, acts a barrier to women reporting the crime. And yet Putin’s cynical and stomach churning reinvention as ‘sexy alpha male’ appears to resonate with many, including young women. [Because my review copy is a draft, there are no photos of Putin’s bare chest and for that I’m exceedingly grateful!]. The final essay is on President Duterte of the Philippines whose enthusiasm for dictatorship appears to be flagging right at the moment.

All of the populist leaders discussed here have many things in common. For a summary, see my review of or read What Is Populism? by Jan-Werner Muller. The stability of our fragile world is increasingly falling into their hands and of that we should be very afraid. I’m not sure this collection of essays adds anything fresh to the debate except that it’s always interesting to read different points of view. For me, it’s just okay so 3 stars.

With thanks to OR Books and NetGalley for a free review copy.

Was this review helpful?