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How to Be a Bad Emperor

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Maureen Dowd: “I’ve been reading a book called How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders, written by Suetonius and translated by Josiah Osgood. Osgood writes of Caligula’s “propensity to give in to every whim and the relish he took in putting down others with cruel remarks.”

“As Suetonius noted about Caligula, ‘To the Senate he showed no more mercy or respect. He allowed some who had achieved the highest offices to run alongside his chariot in their togas for several miles or to stand, dressed in a linen cloth, at the head or the foot of his couch as he dined.'”

“Sound familiar?”

How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers)
How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers)
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Suetonius (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 111 Pages - 02/04/2020 (Publication Date) - Princeton University Press (Publisher)
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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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