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**AN ECONOMIST AND THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR**

‘Essential and definitive’ CATHERINE BELTON, author of PUTIN’S PEOPLE

We are in a new era.

From Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro to Erdogan, Xi and Modi, self-styled strongmen have become a central feature of global politics. At home, they claim to be standing up for ordinary people against ‘globalist’ elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiment of their nation. And everywhere they go, they encourage a cult of personality.

How and why did this new style of authoritarian leadership arrive? How likely is it to lead the world into war and economic collapse? And what liberal forces are in place, not only to keep these strongmen in check but to reverse the trend? The Age of the Strongman explores these essential questions and offers a bold new portrait of our world.

‘TIMELY, LASER-SHARP… A MUST-READ’ PETER FRANKOPAN

‘FORCEFUL… A BOOK WHOSE SIGNIFICANCE IS ENHANCED BY UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS’ MISHA GLENNY

‘WIDE-RANGING AND ASTUTE’ THE ECONOMIST

Publisher Review

Essential reading... Recent events in eastern Europe and beyond make it all the more timely * The Times, *Books of the Year* * Solidly constructed, engaging and factually sound... A penetrating distillation of the essential ingredients of the strongman * Financial Times * Timing is everything. Gideon Rachman has got his spot on with The Age Of The Strongman * Daily Mail * Timely...Rachman... has a journalist's eye for the telling quote combined with a sharp analysis of the factors that enabled them to achieve power and hold on to it * Sunday Times * This is a brilliant, unsettling portrait of our era -- Rana Mitter, author of China's Good War When it comes to making sense of today's world, Gideon Rachman is in a league of his own. He is sharp, original and unsentimental. -- Ivan Krastev, co-author of The Light that Failed Essential and definitive... To understand the chilling stakes of the global Great Game defining this century - the battle between autocracies and democracies - you need only turn to Rachman's magisterial and deftly written book -- Catherine Belton, author of Putin's People Timely, laser-sharp and unsettling. In telling us about strongmen who dominate politics around the world, Gideon Rachman paints a picture that is at turns illuminating and terrifying. A must read -- Peter Frankopan, author of The New Silk Roads A searing analysis... A superb and scintillating portrait, indispensable for understanding our crisis-riven age -- Shruti Kapila, author of Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age In a chaotic world where old definitions of left and right no longer hold, Rachman expertly and artfully surfaces the underlying political, economic and cultural patterns behind the new authoritarianism across the world -- Peter Pomserantsev, author of This Is Not Propaganda A carefully written analysis of strongman leaders all over the world and the threat they pose to liberal democracy... Rachman illuminates the common instincts, tactics and behaviour that link leaders as diverse as Trump, Putin, Xi and Modi -- Anne Applebaum This readable book does an admirable job of providing the lay of the land and highlighting the importance of the battle of ideas for the future of our institutions and norms * Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations Fail and The Narrow Corridor * Brilliant and profoundly alarming... a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency * Scotsman * Rachman... always prompt[s] deeper thought about how the West should be dealing with the challenge [of the strongman]... [a] lucid, well-argued book -- Roger Boyes * The Times * Fascinating...Rachman uncovers a source of contemporary authoritarian thinking in many places * Literary Review * Wide-ranging and astute... Rachman's most powerful point concerns not the strongmen themselves, but Western politicians' and commentators' wishful thinking about them * Economist * This is a book whose significance is enhanced by unpredictable events... [A] pithy and forceful book -- Misha Glenny * Observer * A series of fluent, well-informed essays about the global rise of authoritarianism -- Simon Tisdall * Guardian * This brilliant and profoundly alarming book...offers a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency * Scotsman, *Summer Reads of 2022* * [A] brilliant and profoundly alarming book... Gideon Rachman offers a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency -- Joyce McMillan * Yorkshire Post *