{"title":"Daniel Sixsmith","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDaniel Sixsmith\u003c\/strong\u003e offers incisive explorations into the world of power and governance, delving into the nature of \u003cem\u003edespots\u003c\/em\u003e and authoritarian regimes. His work sheds light on political dynamics with a sharp, analytical eye, appealing to readers interested in understanding the forces shaping contemporary global affairs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough a blend of historical context and current analysis, Sixsmith's writing challenges readers to consider the complexities behind political authority and control. His books provide a compelling perspective on power structures and their impact on societies worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"despots-by-martin-sixsmith-9780753562437","title":"Despots","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA razor-sharp analysis of the increasing - and terrifying - parallels between Trump's America and Putin's Russia, from the former BBC Moscow Correspondent and Sunday Times bestselling author Martin Sixsmith.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Gripping, terrifying, urgent, necessary.\"\u003c\/em\u003e - Ian Rankin\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Anyone who cares for democracy and freedom, and who fears for the future of both, should go and read this book.\"\u003c\/em\u003e - Jonathan Dimbleby\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLong Live the King.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSince his re-election as US president, Donald Trump has made good on things he only dreamed of accomplishing in his first term. He has smashed constitutional constraints, trampled on free speech, suborned the judiciary, demonised the media and crushed protests on the streets. He has secured the backing of America's oligarchs by the offer of mutual enrichment and inflated his personal wealth by flouting ethical standards. US foreign policy is no longer based on values but on greed, while at home the White House has intervened in almost every area of people's lives, sending the National Guard into America's cities, telling educators what schoolchildren should be taught and threatening universities when they beg to differ.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Martin Sixsmith, the BBC's long-serving former Moscow and Washington Correspondent, it is all eerily familiar from what Russia went through in the early-2000s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDespots\u003c\/em\u003e is Sixsmith's account of how two aspiring dictators came to power in nominally electoral democracies then dismantled the pillars of democracy from within, one following confidently in the footsteps of the other. As in Putin's Russia, so in Trump's America - the US is fast-forwarding through what Russia endured in the first five years under Putin, and the parallels this time are much clearer, more overt and increasingly terrifying.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47754131570924,"sku":"9780753562437","price":40.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780753562437-despots.jpg?v=1781657555"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/daniel-sixsmith.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}