Head of State Chronicle: A Century of Turbulent Times (Volume 1 and 2) (Includes CD-ROM)

Author: Yang Guorong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: "The course of life's river can be altered by one person's character. If Lyttelton had fled from Marathon, if Charles Martel had fled from Poitiers, Western civilization might have been entirely different. And if Christ had denied his teachings before Pilate, everything might have been another story." These words are from a co-authored book by Frenchman Pierre Accus and Swiss Pierre Lanchinik. We quote this passage to illustrate the importance of leaders in the course of human history and the motivation behind compiling this biography of world leaders. Leaders from all over the world are professional politicians, and their struggles have left indelible marks on human history. Among them are sages and wise men, as well as demons and scoundrels! Some have failed in the ruthless political struggle, becoming victims of history and writing a painful and unforgettable page; some have successfully played the role of saviors on the historical stage; some have made outstanding contributions to their countries, people, or even the progress of the world, leaving a glorious legacy; while others have gone mad, launched aggressive wars, dragged their own people or the world's people into the depths of suffering, and been cursed for all eternity.
In this biography book featuring over a hundred leaders from around the world, readers can fully admire their appearances, glimpse their mysterious minds, grasp their character traits, understand their fervent desire to secure top positions, and learn about the various means they employ—whether wielding the sword of justice with integrity, relying on deception, using cunning, resorting to violence, or exploiting and manipulating the people.
To understand history, one must first understand the people who act on its stage; to understand the people on the historical stage, one must first understand the leaders who guide these "actors"—the leaders of various countries. For this reason, among the numerous biographical works, books about leaders have been particularly favored by readers; for this reason, we have devoted ourselves to compiling this large-scale "Chronicles of a Century—Biographies of Leaders."