Anti-Chavez book gets it all wrong

Gino Frobel

      Gripping stories related to some of the most well known dictators and their regime are exposed in the book "dictators Learning Curve" written by William Dobson. I can't say this is really an interesting book and was somewhat disappointed with the results. The chapters are long and drag on throughout this book and I was really expecting something more interesting after hearing the author on a podcast. He makes a better interview than writes book and he spends too much time

concentrating on Hugo Chavez and some would question if Chavez was actually a dictator because those who lost several elections claim persecution. The author William Dobson writes about some of these dictators clamping down on propaganda mainstream slanted media and undoubtedly he is coming from an American perspective where this type of. Divisive media is not only tolerated but encouraged. He does a good job researching Chavez's rise through the ranks of military but covers little of the extreme poverty and inequality that motivated the men like Chavezand others took secret oaths to topple the corrupt government.  Dobson also goes through mostly the regimes of Putin's mad Mubarek's and also covers Communist domination in China. The only interesting thing in this book is a brief talk about previous Ukraine protests as foreshadowing  the current situation with Russia's augment into Crimea. I still want to know how the author claims Chavez's goal for power was not democratic in nature when Chavez clearly had the support of the vast majority of the population and won in landslides without evidence of intimidation at the polls. The author clearly doesn't like the socialist policies that were enacted in Venezuela and the dominance of state owned media as the only alternative to a private one that would be hostile and critical of every move Chavez did. Dobson would prefer political system in Venezuela that is run by private money usually from very private wealthy men who own very large private financial institutions or corporations. The result of this abuse will be men like  Chavez or perhaps more legitimate dictators or plutocratic rule. The author talks about Chavez's gerrymandering giving more power to rural areas as this is something abnormal in the Western Hemisphere. Maybe he should look at the inequality of the US senate where tiny Wyoming has as many reps as New York. Dobson is an idiot and this book sucks and it is clearly an Anti - Chavez agenda book written when that great leader was still ruling. The book is like sixty percent about Hugo Chavez. The people in countries he talks about are.any less free than people in Canada or America. This is a guy who needs to look at the supposedly free two party corporate political state in America whose ability at fundraiser drowns out all opposition to their rule at all levels across the United States. Mr Dobson should not be very

surprised to see most of the funding of opposition parties in other countries most likely comes from the same sources that fund both the Republicans and Democrats and maybe that is the issue he should be concentrating for a book. As far as this book "dictators learning Curve" it is a stinker not worthy of the dustiest library shelve.