How to Be a Bad Emperor - (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers) by Suetonius (Hardcover)

The "How to Be a Bad Emperor" book is an exuberant, witty, and incisive critique of four power-hungry egomaniacal Roman emperors.

Superbly translated, this book offers crisp new translations of Suetonius's briskly paced, darkly comic biographies of Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero.

With an introduction and original Latin on facing pages, "How to Be a Bad Emperor" is both a delightfully enlightening guide to the dangers of power without character and a perceptive account of leadership gone monstrously awry.

Meet Caesar, using his aunt's funeral to brag about his descent from gods and kings--and hiding his bald head with a comb-over and a laurel crown; Tiberius, neglecting public affairs in favor of wine, perverse sex, tortures, and executions; the insomniac sadist Caligula, flaunting his skill at cruel put-downs; and the matricide Nero, indulging his mania for public performance.

This book provides an important reminder of the delicacy of systems, and how once they are overturned, the citizenry will be eagerly and easily trammeled by power-hungry narcissists.

Entertaining and shocking, the stories of these ancient anti-role models show how power inflames leaders' worst tendencies, causing almost incalculable damage.

Don't miss out on this gleeful romp through some of the nastiest bits of Roman history and a perceptive account of leadership gone monstrously awry!