Profiles in Mass Murder

This book is a comparative analysis of three mass killers of the twentieth century. It is meant for the general reader, interested in history and politics. It is based on the great-man theory of history, that great and notorious acts are the result of human decisions, not institutional or systemic dysfunction. The massive violence authored by Stalin, Hitler, and Mao Zedong stemmed from their personalities, personalities shaped by their childhood, choice of revolution as a profession, achieving power via revolution, and winning absolute power in the new regime. The comparative biographical approach highlights their differences and similarities and demonstrates that there is no characteristic killer type. These men were sui generis.