An exploration of Chávez's life and career, pondering such questions as "How did a charismatic autocrat seduce not just a nation but a significant part of world opinion? How did he make people laugh, weep, and applaud as if on command? And how does he continue to stay in power despite the crumbling of Venezuela?"--Dust jacket flap.

Includes maps of: Venezuela.

Throne -- Hello, President! -- Inside Miraflores -- Defectors -- The young lieutenant -- Palace -- Survival of the fittest -- The art of war -- The devil's excrement -- The storyteller -- Kingdom -- Decay -- The great illuminating journey -- Protest -- The artist.