<b>Illuminating ... </b><b>an insightful series of essays</b> about 12 exceptional leaders who stood at the centre of Europe's 20th century.
- Philip Stephens, Financial Times
<b>Few historians are better qualified to answer these questions than Ian Kershaw </b> ... As always, he proves a splendid miniaturist, expertly sketching personalities and philosophies in a few coolly judged lines ... If Kershaw's book has a contemporary lesson, it is that societies are probably happiest and healthiest when leaders matter least.
- Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
Sir Ian Kershaw, the great (in both senses) biographer of Adolf Hitler, makes an important contribution to this debate ... persuasive and nuanced pen-portraits ... <b>well-researched, well-written and thought-provoking.</b>
- Andrew Roberts, Daily Telegraph
Lucid portraits of the leaders who shaped Europe's 20th century ... There is much to be admired in Kershaw's cogent and astute analysis.
- Orlando Figes, The Observer