One of the great historians of our age asks how far can a single leader alter the course of historyThe modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control persuasion and death. Whole societies were reshaped and wars fought often with a merciless contempt for the most basic norms. At the summit of these societies were leaders whose personalities had somehow given them the ability to do whatever they wished.Ian Kershaws new book is a compelling lucid and challenging attempt to understand these rulers whether operating on the widest stage Lenin Stalin Hitler Mussolini or with a more national impact Tito Franco. What was it about these leaders and the times they lived in that allowed them such untrammelled and murderous power And what brought that era to an end In a contrasting group of profiles from Churchill to de Gaulle Adenauer to Gorbachev and Thatcher to Kohl Kershaw uses his exceptional skills to think through how other strikingly different figures wielded power.