Алистер Смит - The Dictator's Handbook - Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics

Alastair Smith is Professor of Politics at New York University. He previously taught at Washington University in St. Louis and at Yale University. He has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Rochester and a BA in Chemistry from Oxford University. Smith, the recipient of three grants from the National Science Foundation, was chosen as the 2005 Karl Deutsch Award winner, given biennially to the best international relations scholar under the age of 40. In 1997–1998 he was selected as a National Fellow by the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

New from Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith.

It’s striking how many of the presidents Americans venerate—Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy, to name a few— oversaw some of the republic’s bloodiest years. Perhaps they were driven by the needs of the American people and the nation. Or maybe they were just looking out for themselves.

This revealing and entertaining book puts some of America’s greatest leaders under the microscope, showing how their calls for war, usually remembered as brave and noble, were in fact selfish and convenient. In each case, our presidents chose personal gain over national interest while loudly evoking justice and freedom. The result is an eye-opening retelling of American history, and a call for reforms that may make the future better.

Learn more at: The Spoils of War

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Copyright © 2011 by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith.

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, 1946–

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-1-610-39045-3

2. Power (Social sciences) 3. Political corruption. I. Smith, Alastair, 1967–II. Title.

JC330.3.B84 2011

303.3’4—dc23

2011024164