How to Feed a Dictator (Paperback)
Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Enver Hoxha, Fidel Castro, and Pol Pot Through the Eyes of Their Cooks
Witold Szabłowski Antonia Lloyd-Jones
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Mixing bold journalism with bolder allegories, Mr Szablowski teaches us with witty persistence that we must desire freedom rather than simply expect it
Timothy Snyder, New York Times bestselling author of ON TYRANNY
A devastatingly original look at the world's worst dictators, through the eyes of their personal chefs, by award-winning Polish author Witold Szabłowski.
What is it like to cook for the most dangerous men in the world?
In this darkly funny and fascinating book, Witold Szabłowski travels across four continents in search of the personal chefs of five dictators. From the savannahs of Kenya to the faded glamour of Havana, and the bombed-out streets of Baghdad, Szabłowski finds the men and women who cooked fish soup for Saddam Hussein, roasted goat for Idi Amin and chopped papaya salad for Pol Pot. He reveals the strangeness of a job where a single culinary mistake could be fatal, but a well-seasoned dish could change your life. And in doing so, he lifts the veil on what life is like at the very heart of power.
A fascinating collection of essays – part oral history, part reportage – by Polish journalist Witold Szablowski… For some of these chefs, it was hard to see their employers as anything but ordinary human beings, however flawed, until it was too late. Maybe you can't see monstrosity in its full monstrousness when you're making breakfast for it every day
