A Short History of Ancient Rome
Pascal Hughes
Mentioned 6 months ago
Jean-Bédel Bokassa Part 3: A Coronation for the Ages
Book Recommendations
Real Dictators
Real Dictators is the award-winning podcast that explores the hidden lives of history's tyrants. Hosted by Paul McGann, with contributions from eyewitnesses and expert historians. New episodes available a week early for Noiser+ subscribers. You'll also get ad-free listening, early access and excl...
Episodes
162
Books
149
Recently mentioned
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Ogre Castle (After the Spell Wars Book 1)
Robert E. Vardeman
Mentioned 6 months ago
Jean-Bédel Bokassa Part 2: The Power Grab, the Châteaux and the Missing Daughter
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens
Mentioned 7 months ago
Introducing: Charles Dickens Ghost Stories - A Christmas Carol
1984
George Orwell
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 9: Down With Fidel!
The Cubans
Anthony DePalma
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 9: Down With Fidel!
The Year of Dangerous Days
Nicholas Griffin
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 8: Miami Vice
Moscow and Havana 1917 to the Present
Mervyn J. Bain
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 6: The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Man Who Invented Fidel
Anthony DePalma
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 3: The Mountain Guerrillas
Capital
Karl Marx
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 2: Shipwrecked in the Swamps
Red Heat
Alex Von Tunzelmann
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 1: Rise of ‘The Crazy One’
The Myth of José Martí
Lillian Guerra
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 1: Rise of ‘The Crazy One’
Young Castro
Jonathan M. Hansen
Mentioned 1 year ago
Fidel Castro Part 1: Rise of ‘The Crazy One’
Most Recommended
Before Evil
Young Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, and Kim
Brandon Gautier is an adjunct professor of history at Fordham University and author of this book on the early lives of notable figures, including Lenin.
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Dr Brandon Gautier is adjunct professor of history at Fordham University and author of Before Evil. Young Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini and Kim.
— Episode: Lenin Part 1: The Revolution is Born
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Episode: Lenin Part 1: The Revolution is Born
Brandon Gautier is an adjunct professor of history at Fordham University and author of this book on the early lives of notable figures, including Lenin.
"
Dr Brandon Gautier is adjunct professor of history at Fordham University and author of Before Evil. Young Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini and Kim.
Sharpe's Trafalgar
Richard Sharpe & the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #4)
The book was brought up as an example of Bernard Cornwell's best-selling series set during the Napoleonic Wars, indicating its historical setting aligns with the episode's focus. The host noted that the novels feature the era and potentially Napoleon himself, but no explicit endorsement was given. Overall, the mention was brief and informational.
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Episode: Napoleon Part 2: The Italian Job
It was mentioned that these novels are set during the Napoleonic Wars, suggesting that they feature the era and potentially Napoleon himself in some capacity.
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Bernard Cornwell is the best-selling author of the Richard Sharp novels, set during the Napoleonic Wars.
![Napoleon the Great [Hardcover] Cover](https://media.podcastbookpicks.com/books/7035.jpg)
Napoleon the Great [Hardcover]
Andrew Roberts is the author of "Napoleon the Great," a bestseller, and he explained that Napoleon didn't see himself as French in his early years because Corsica had only been part of France for one year when he was born.
"
Andrew Roberts is author of the acclaimed bestseller, Napoleon the Great.
— Episode: Napoleon Part 1: The Humble Corsican
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Episode: Napoleon Part 1: The Humble Corsican
Andrew Roberts is the author of "Napoleon the Great," a bestseller, and he explained that Napoleon didn't see himself as French in his early years because Corsica had only been part of France for one year when he was born.
"
Andrew Roberts is author of the acclaimed bestseller, Napoleon the Great.
When The War Was Over
Cambodia And The Khmer Rouge Revolution
The hosts highlighted the author's firsthand experience in Cambodia during the 1970s and noted that she authored a detailed account of the Khmer Rouge revolution. They pointed out that she even came face to face with Pol Pot, underscoring the book's unique insider perspective. This context positioned the title as a valuable resource for understanding that period.
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Episode: Pol Pot Part 1: Tyrant in the Shadows
Elizabeth Becker, a journalist who lived in Cambodia in the 1970s, wrote "When the War Was Over" about the Khmer Rouge revolution. She once came face to face with Pol Pot himself.
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Elizabeth Becker is a journalist who lived in Cambodia in the 1970s She is author of When The War Was Over, Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution Later on we'll hear how she once came face to face with Pol Pot himself
Billy the Kid
The Endless Ride
The book was referenced when the hosts introduced the series, noting that its author was a journalist and historian who had written a detailed account of Billy the Kid. They highlighted the author's expertise as background for the episode's focus on the outlaw's family, especially his mother Catherine McCarty. The mention served mainly to establish credibility rather than to recommend the title.
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Episode: Introducing: Real Outlaws - Billy the Kid Part 1
The author is a journalist and historian, and describes Catherine McCarty as a strong, decent woman who raised her two sons alone after her husband's death. Catherine was described as a jolly Irish lady full of life and mischief who always welcomed her sons with a smile and a joke.
"
Michael Wallace is a journalist and historian and author of Billy the Kid, The Endless Ride.
She was basically a strong, decent woman.
Most likely part of the great throng of famine Irish who came to this country.
She ended up living fairly impoverished, as many people did, especially the Irish, in the bowels of New York and she had two sons.
A son, Joseph, who went by Josie, then a young Henry, Henry McCarty.
Caesar
Life of a Colossus
The book was discussed in the episode on Julius Caesar, where Adrian Goldsworthy examined Caesar's enduring impact on history and how his name evolved into titles of power such as 'Kaiser' and 'Tsar'. He emphasized that despite being a common family name, Caesar became synonymous with authority, and that his legacy is still referenced two millennia later. The conversation highlighted the book's insight into Caesar's pivotal role in shaping later political terminology.
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Episode: Julius Caesar Part 1: The Roman Dictator
The author discussed Caesar's lasting influence on history and the way his name became synonymous with power, leading to titles like 'Kaiser' and 'Tsar' in later centuries.
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Julius Caesar is one of those strange figures who is there at a pivotal moment in history.
Caesar is just a family name like Smith or Jones and yet it becomes the title of power to the point where at the beginning of the 20th century you've got a Kaiser in Germany, you've got a Tsar in Russia, versions of the name Caesar.
Sometimes we have to step back and remind ourselves that there is just one man at the start of all this and that the name would still be talked about 2,000 years on.
Triumph of the Will?
How Two Men Hypnotised Hitler and Changed the World.
The book was brought up to illustrate how the propaganda film created a church‑like, prayerful atmosphere that could hypnotise audiences, with hosts noting its frightening spiritual rhetoric and the fact that David Bowie and Mick Jagger reportedly watched it nine times together. The discussion highlighted its powerful, cult‑like impact rather than giving a direct endorsement.
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Episode: Adolf Hitler Seizes Power (Part 12)
It was described by some as a church, or like a deep sense of prayer, and it was so compelling that David Bowie and Mick Jagger watched it together nine times.
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They describe it as a church. This is the frightening thing. People use the language of spiritual awakening to evoke these events.
Many described it as like having a deep sense of prayer.
I mean David Bowie and Mick Jagger I think watched Triumph of the Will nine times together.
Chile Under Pinochet
Recovering the Truth (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights)
The book was cited as a source of information on Augusto Pinochet's early years, especially his time at the military academy and his initial struggles with physical fitness. The host used it to provide historical context for the episode's discussion of Pinochet's background.
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The Pinochet File
A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability (National Security Archive Book)
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Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The episode highlighted how the perilous journeys up the Congo River in gunboats, as described in the podcast, served as inspiration for the novel. No specific host endorsement was given, but the reference underscored the book's connection to real historical events. The discussion was informative rather than a strong recommendation.
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Ruhnama
The Book of the Soul (Annotated Version)
The Ruhnama was described as a bizarre pinkandgreen book with a goldcapped cover that became a compulsory text in Turkmenistan.
"
there was a book there called the Ruhnama... everybody compelled to read this Ruhnama... the book itself was quite strange looking. It's kind of pink and green with t...
— Episode: BONUS: Dictators’ Books
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Episode: BONUS: Dictators’ Books
The Ruhnama was described as a bizarre pinkandgreen book with a goldcapped cover that became a compulsory text in Turkmenistan.
"
there was a book there called the Ruhnama... everybody compelled to read this Ruhnama... the book itself was quite strange looking. It's kind of pink and green with this gold head on the cover.
I managed to find it online... page by page so I could read it. And it was quite weird and terrible, but in an equal measure.
the Rukh Namah is not as easy to get hold of now and Rukh Namah volume two is very difficult.
A Kim Jong-Il Production
The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power
During the episode, the author of the title described Kim Jong‑il's childhood, noting his absent, womanizing father and the stepmother he later tried to erase from history. The discussion highlighted the personal dynamics that shaped the dictator's early life, providing a vivid backdrop for the broader narrative of North Korea's formation. The hosts treated the book as a source of insight rather than a formal recommendation.
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Episode: Kim Jong-il Part 1: Birth of North Korea
Paul Fisher, the author of this book, described Kim Jong-il's upbringing with an absent father, a womanizing father who spent more time with women from the secretarial pool than with his kids, and a stepmother whom Kim Jong-il resented and tried to erase from North Korean history once he had the power to.
"
He had an absent father who was by all accounts a womanizer who spent more time with women from the secretarial pool than he did with his kids and remarried fairly soon to a woman that Kim Jong-il resented and whom along with his half-siblings, he tried to erase out of North Korean history the second he had the power to.
Red Heat
Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean
Alex von Tunzelmann was mentioned as the author of Red Heat, Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean.
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Alex von Tunselmann is the author of Red Heat, Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean.
— Episode: Fidel Castro Part 1: Rise of ‘The Crazy...
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Episode: Fidel Castro Part 1: Rise of ‘The Crazy One’
Alex von Tunzelmann was mentioned as the author of Red Heat, Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean.
"
Alex von Tunselmann is the author of Red Heat, Conspiracy, Murder and the Cold War in the Caribbean.
Titanic the Ship That Never Sank?
It was reported that another journalist's book titled The Ship That Never Sank also sold well.
"
There were two British journalists who wrote a book about it, Riddle of the Titanic. And the second one was called The Ship That Never Sank because those books sold so well.
— Episode: Introducing: Titanic: Ship of Dreams - E...
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Episode: Introducing: Titanic: Ship of Dreams - Episode 1
It was reported that another journalist's book titled The Ship That Never Sank also sold well.
"
There were two British journalists who wrote a book about it, Riddle of the Titanic. And the second one was called The Ship That Never Sank because those books sold so well.
Rickem Anime Halloween Cosplay Yumeko Costume Runa Cosplay School Uniform Full Set for Women
This two-volume book, written and published by Turkmenbashi in 2001, was a mix of memoir, national history, and spiritual guidance. It aimed to elevate Niyazov to the status of a sage, philosopher, and prophet, and was studied extensively in schools and universities.
"
Today, he says, the happiness of your nation is in your hands. Sapamurat, show the way of the golden life to the Turkmen nation. This will be your time. Show the way of the golden life to the Turkmen...
— Episode: Turkmenbashy Part 2: Putin, Taliban, Int...
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Episode: Turkmenbashy Part 2: Putin, Taliban, Internet Shut...
This two-volume book, written and published by Turkmenbashi in 2001, was a mix of memoir, national history, and spiritual guidance. It aimed to elevate Niyazov to the status of a sage, philosopher, and prophet, and was studied extensively in schools and universities.
"
Today, he says, the happiness of your nation is in your hands. Sapamurat, show the way of the golden life to the Turkmen nation. This will be your time. Show the way of the golden life to the Turkmen nation. This will be your task. This will be your way.
The white pumpkin
Dennis Hills, a British author and former intelligence official, wrote a book criticizing Idi Amin's regime, referring to him as a 'black Nero' and 'village tyrant'. This led to a death sentence for Hills, which was later commuted after intervention from the Queen.
"
His crime? He's now an author too. He's written a book called The white pumpkin.
— Episode: Idi Amin Part 5: Husband, Father, Movie...
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Episode: Idi Amin Part 5: Husband, Father, Movie Star
Dennis Hills, a British author and former intelligence official, wrote a book criticizing Idi Amin's regime, referring to him as a 'black Nero' and 'village tyrant'. This led to a death sentence for Hills, which was later commuted after intervention from the Queen.
"
His crime? He's now an author too. He's written a book called The white pumpkin.
In it, Hills describes Idi Amin as a black Nero and a village tyrant.
My African Journey
A Vivid Chronicle of Adventure, Discovery, and Diplomacy in the Vast and Mysterious Lands of Africa
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Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.