From Herod to Papa Doc Duvalier, from Nero to Saddam Hussein, here are 50 chilling portraits of the despots whose iron-fisted rule left an indelible mark on the history of the world. Presenting a compelling chronology of the moments in history when the principles of government and law were corrupted by the vanity of the ambitious and unscrupulous, The Tyrants recounts the story of each dictator individually. From irresistible rise to inevitable fall, it describes how these men and women - as often outcasts or outsiders as kings or queens - were able to manipulate the political climate of their states to seize absolute power and examines the destruction and suffering they invariably left in their wake.