HOW MADNESS SHAPED HISTORY: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal Rulers, Raving Narcissists, and Psychotic Visionaries

Beginning with Alexander the Great, whose megalomania caused widespread bloodshed yet powerfully shaped world history through the spread of Greek culture, Ferguson examines the various forms of mental illness among people of great influence. He also details cases where whole societies seem to be gripped by the madness of mob rule.