I can see why people find him [Hugo Chávez] charming. He’s very ebullient, as they say. I’ve heard him make a speech, though, and he has a vice that’s always very well worth noticing because...

Who are you?” he asked.I am the future queen of this world, at the very least. You may refer to me as Mistress Koboi for the next five minutes. After that you may refer to...

When dealing with writers it breaks down like this: a regular writer is your average everyday megalomaniac. Like every artist, there’s a part of them that believes–nay, knows–the world turns for them. Most are harmless....

The author describes megalomania as seen in Chairman Mao by saying that what he was familiar with, he was really familiar with. This zeal moved the megalomaniac with a complete lack of appreciation for what...

Man cannot be content in his riches even if he has the whole world, there must be a frivolous extra desire.

The Bear had once confided to me that Durrell’s ego could fit snugly in the basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome but in very few other public places. This runaway megalomania marked him as a...

Cheops’ Law: Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget.

It would not do to be Lord of a universe inhabited solely by serfs.