Praise for Children of Monsters
“A magnetic page-turner that nonetheless is complex and deep. The fascinating and horrific details Nordlinger unearths flow together to pose important and disturbing questions about love, loyalty, history, and human nature.”
—Mark Helprin, author of Winter’s Tale and A Soldier of the Great War
“This extraordinary book makes us all ask of ourselves: What would we do if we realized that our beloved father was also a blood-stained tyrant? . . . Jay Nordlinger’s exceptional investigation into the children of 20 modern dictators grips and convinces.”
—Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War and Napoleon: A Life
“a riveting and informative read”
—Juliana Geran Pilon, in the Washington Free Beacon
“sobering, albeit relentlessly fascinating and entertaining”
—Mark Tapson, in FrontPage Magazine
“gripping . . . At the risk of cliché, I will say, Children of Monsters is impossible to put down.”
—Mona Charen, in her syndicated column
“peerless . . . Like a good tragedian, Nordlinger infuses Children of Monsters with catharsis. Nearly each of his 20 chapters culminates in a release of tension. . . . Without humanizing the dictators, Nordlinger’s study of their children reveals their fathers’ humanity.”
—Michael T. Hamilton, in Dissident
“oddly compelling . . . As surprising as the book’s subject is at first glance, as one begins reading it one wonders why such a book was not written a long time ago.”
—John Daniel Davidson, in The Federalist
Previous Praise for the Author
“Jay Nordlinger is one of America’s most versatile and pungent writers.”
—Paul Johnson, author of Modern Times
“Few writers are well qualified to write about the world’s cultures, and none more so than Jay Nordlinger.”
—Robert Conquest, author of The Great Terror
“Nordlinger offers a unique combination of depth and accuracy of knowledge with clarity and elegance of style. It is a pleasure to read sophistication without affectation.”
—Bernard Lewis, author of What Went Wrong? The Clash between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East
© 2015, 2017 by Jay Nordlinger
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, New York, 10003.
First American edition published in 2015 by Encounter Books,
an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc.,
a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation.
Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
First paperback edition published in 2017.
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGUED THE HARDCOVER EDITION AS FOLLOWS:
Nordlinger, Jay, 1963–
Children of monsters: an inquiry into the sons and daughters of dictators / Jay Nordlinger.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59403-900-3 (ebook)
1. Children of criminals. 2. Dictators—Family relationships. 3. Parent and child. 4. Totalitarianism—Social aspects. I. Title.
HV6251.N67 2015
321.9092’2—dc23
2015005297
To David Pryce-Jones, an exemplary
thinker, writer, and friend
From the Same Author
Peace, They Say: A History of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Most Famous and Controversial Prize in the World (Encounter Books)
Here, There & Everywhere: Collected Writings of Jay Nordlinger (National Review Books)
CONTENTS
Foreword
1. HITLER
2. MUSSOLINI
3. FRANCO
4. STALIN
5. TOJO
6. MAO
7. KIM
8. HOXHA
9. CEAUŞESCU
10. DUVALIER
11. CASTRO
12. QADDAFI
13. ASSAD
14. SADDAM
15. KHOMEINI
16. MOBUTU
17. BOKASSA
18. AMIN
19. MENGISTU
20. POL POT
Afterword
A Note on Sources
Acknowledgements
Photo Credits
Index
This peculiar book came about in a peculiar way: In 2002, I was visiting Albania for the first time, speaking under State Department auspices. The country was ten years beyond the collapse of Communism. Many of the old structures were in place, however; democracy was not quite flourishing (nor is it today). For some 40 years, Albania had been ruled by a dictator outstanding in his cruelty: Enver Hoxha. Hoxha achieved an almost perfect tyranny. No one could breathe. One of his few rivals was Kim Il-sung, in North Korea. Hoxha was known as “Sole Force.” In Albania, that was pretty much true.
Toward the end of my visit, a young intellectual from a government ministry was assigned to show me around. In the course of our tour, I thought about Hoxha and his complete domination of the country. He was gone now—dead. But I had a question for my guide: “Did Hoxha have children?” Yes, he did: three of them, two sons and a daughter. “Are they still in Albania?” Oh, yes. “And what are they doing?” Well, the daughter was an architect, and she had helped design the shrine to her father. As for the sons, they were dabbling in politics or business—it was a little unclear.
I wondered what it must be like to be the son or daughter of Hoxha. To bear a name synonymous with oppression, murder, terror, and evil. I thought it might make a good subject for a magazine article: the Hoxha children. I also thought a broader study of sons and daughters of dictators might make a good book. I tucked the idea away, mentally. Eventually, there came a time