An engaging and original historical portrait of eight of the most influential political figures of the twentieth century: Woodrow Wilson, Lenin, Hitler, Churchill, FDR, Gandhi, David Ben-Gurion, and Mao. The Titans of the Twentieth Century addresses an age-old question: what is the impact of individuals on history? The first half of the twentieth century offered political leaders enormous scope for changing the world. This book consists of essays about eight who, for better and for worse, did just that. Woodrow Wilson had a vision for a cooperative world order that failed after the First World War but gained in influence after the Second. Vladimir Ilich Lenin founded the totalitarian communist political system that controlled a large part of the planet for much of the twentieth century. Adolf Hitler started history's worst war and presided over history's worst atrocity, the Holocaust. Winston Churchill provided inspiring leadership to Great Britain, which made it possible to defeat Nazi Germany in World War II. Franklin D. Roosevelt steered the United States through the Great Depression and the Second World War. Mohandas Gandhi led the movement, and developed the philosophy of non-violence, that ended British rule in South Asia, paving the way for the end of empires throughout Asia and Africa. David Ben-Gurion led the miraculous restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land. Mao Zedong, imposed totalitarian communist rule on China and became history's most egregious mass murderer. Individually, each chapter offers fresh and often surprising portraits of the twentieth century's titans. Collectively, the essays present a vivid and revealing portrait of a turbulent half-century that shaped the world of today.

About the Author
Michael Mandelbaum is the Christian A. Herter Professor Emeritus of American Foreign Policy at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is the author of seventeen previous books, including Mission Failure (Oxford, 2016), The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth (Oxford, 2019), The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy (Oxford, 2022), and That Used to Be Us (with Thomas L. Friedman, 2011).

Reviews
In this welcome and impressive work of synthesis, one of our leading scholars of international relations draws on an extensive scholarship to offer telling examinations of eight leaders of the twentieth century. In an era when the great democratic leaders, receive criticism for their faults, Mandelbaum reminds us of their accomplishments. While aware of distinctions among the dictators, Mandelbaum's makes a powerful case that Lenin and Mao, no less than Hitler, deserve the term 'monster.' Recognizing the greatness of Ghandi's legacy of non-violent protest, and Ben Gurion's accomplishment of state building and self-defense rightly brings these two democratic leaders into the pantheon of great leaders of that tumultuous century. At a time when liberal democracy faces challenges around the world, this book offers a fine scholar's recollection of what its leaders accomplished against great odds. * Jeffrey Herf, University of Maryland, College Park *
The Titans of the Twentieth Century brilliantly reveals much that's new about men and nations. Tragically, its vital insights pertain equally well to our own seething Twenty-First Century. * Derek Leebaert, Truman Book Award winner, and author of Unlikely Heroes: Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made *
Michael Mandelbaum, a wise and prolific student of international affairs, takes issue with the idea that history is made exclusively by implacable forces and mass movements. Some may cringe at the Great Man theory of history; he shows in this fascinating book that there is a lot to be said for it. * Eliot A. Cohen, Arleigh Burke Chair in Strategy, CSIS *
In studying the past, Mandelbaum provides much to ponder about the present. * Jacob Heilbrunn, Jerusalem Strategic Tribune *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197782477
Author Michael Mandelbaum
Format Hardback
Page Count 352
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 658g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 152mm * 31mm