Children of Monsters - Jay Nordlinger

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      Praise for Children of Monsters

      “A magnetic page-turner that nonetheless is complex and deep. The fascinating and horrific details Nordlinger unearths flow together to pose important and disturbing questions about love, loyalty, history, and human nature.”

      —Mark Helprin, author of Winter’s Tale and A Soldier of the Great War

      “This extraordinary book makes us all ask of ourselves: What would we do if we realized that our beloved father was also a blood-stained tyrant? . . . Jay Nordlinger’s exceptional investigation into the children of 20 modern dictators grips and convinces.”

      —Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War and Napoleon: A Life

      “a riveting and informative read”

      —Juliana Geran Pilon, in the Washington Free Beacon

      “sobering, albeit relentlessly fascinating and entertaining”

      —Mark Tapson, in FrontPage Magazine

      “gripping . . . At the risk of cliché, I will say, Children of Monsters is impossible to put down.”

      —Mona Charen, in her syndicated column

      “peerless . . . Like a good tragedian, Nordlinger infuses Children of Monsters with catharsis. Nearly each of his 20 chapters culminates in a release of tension. . . . Without humanizing the dictators, Nordlinger’s study of their children reveals their fathers’ humanity.”

      —Michael T. Hamilton, in Dissident

      “oddly compelling . . . As surprising as the book’s subject is at first glance, as one begins reading it one wonders why such a book was not written a long time ago.”

      —John Daniel Davidson, in The Federalist

       Previous Praise for the Author

      “Jay Nordlinger is one of America’s most versatile and pungent writers.”

      —Paul Johnson, author of Modern Times

      “Few writers are well qualified to write about the world’s cultures, and none more so than Jay Nordlinger.”

      —Robert Conquest, author of The Great Terror

      “Nordlinger offers a unique combination of depth and accuracy of knowledge with clarity and elegance of style. It is a pleasure to read sophistication without affectation.”

      —Bernard Lewis, author of What Went Wrong? The Clash between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East

      © 2015, 2017 by Jay Nordlinger

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, New York, 10003.

      First American edition published in 2015 by Encounter Books,

      an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc.,

      a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation.

      Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com

      The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).

      First paperback edition published in 2017.

      THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGUED THE HARDCOVER EDITION AS FOLLOWS:

      Nordlinger, Jay, 1963–

      Children of monsters: an inquiry into the sons and daughters of dictators / Jay Nordlinger.

      pages cm

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN 978-1-59403-900-3 (ebook)

      1. Children of criminals. 2. Dictators—Family relationships. 3. Parent and child. 4. Totalitarianism—Social aspects. I. Title.

      HV6251.N67 2015

      321.9092’2—dc23

      2015005297

       To David Pryce-Jones, an exemplary

       thinker, writer, and friend

       From the Same Author

      Peace, They Say: A History of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Most Famous and Controversial Prize in the World (Encounter Books)

      Here, There & Everywhere: Collected Writings of Jay Nordlinger (National Review Books)

      CONTENTS

      5. TOJO

      6. MAO

      7. KIM

      8. HOXHA

      9. CEAUŞESCU

      10. DUVALIER

      11. CASTRO

      12. QADDAFI

      13. ASSAD

      14. SADDAM

      15. KHOMEINI

      16. MOBUTU

      17. BOKASSA

      18. AMIN

      19. MENGISTU

      20. POL POT

       Afterword

       A Note on Sources

       Acknowledgements

       Photo Credits

       Index

       FOREWORD

      This peculiar book came about in a peculiar way: In 2002, I was visiting Albania for the first time, speaking under State Department auspices. The country was ten years beyond the collapse of Communism. Many of the old structures were in place, however; democracy was not quite flourishing (nor is it today). For some 40 years, Albania had been ruled by a dictator outstanding in his cruelty: Enver Hoxha. Hoxha achieved an almost perfect tyranny. No one could breathe. One of his few rivals was Kim Il-sung, in North Korea. Hoxha was known as “Sole Force.” In Albania, that was pretty much true.

      Toward the end of my visit, a young intellectual from a government ministry was assigned to show me around. In the course of our tour, I thought about Hoxha and his complete domination of the country. He was gone now—dead. But I had a question for my guide: “Did Hoxha have children?” Yes, he did: three of them, two sons and a daughter. “Are they still in Albania?” Oh, yes. “And what are they doing?” Well, the daughter was an architect, and she had helped design the shrine to her father. As for the sons, they were dabbling in politics or business—it was a little unclear.

      I wondered what it must be like to be the son or daughter of Hoxha. To bear a name synonymous with oppression, murder, terror, and evil. I thought it might make a good subject for a magazine article: the Hoxha children. I also thought a broader study of sons and daughters of dictators might make a good book. I tucked the idea away, mentally. Eventually, there came a time

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