On modern tyranny -- Moderation abandoned -- In the beginning was the word -- Death, lies, and decay -- A typological map of tyranny -- Imagined egalitarian hells : Maoism and the Khmer Rouge -- Little Stalins? : socalist corporatism at the service of the nation and the leader -- Little Hitlers? : elite fantasies in Argentina and Iraq, and their realization -- An inadvertent catastrophe : Burma's confrontation with colonialism, modern nationalism, and Ne Win -- Race and corruption on the island of Hispaniola : two Caribbean nightmares -- Colonialism, resentment, and chaos : two African studies -- Some propositions, lessons, and predictions about tyranny.