The Titans of the Twentieth Century : How They Made History and the History They Made

In Titans of the Twentieth Century, the eminent scholar Michael Mandelbaum provides a group portrait of the most influential political figures of the twentieth century: Woodrow Wilson, Lenin, Hitler, Churchill, FDR, Ghandi, David Ben-Gurion, and Mao. Mandelbaum''s selective principle is a combination of novelty, political power, geopolitical importance, and long-term influence. For better or worse, these are the men who did more than anyone else to shape the world that we live in today. Through their lives, this book provides a unique window into the political forces that shaped the twentieth century and laid the groundwork for the twenty-first.

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.