LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT TO KEEP IT: MEMOIR FROM NAZI GERMANY SURVIVOR ON HOW DICTATORS TAKE AND KEEP CONTROL

“… An eclectic combination of memoir and political analysis…astute and historically rigorous throughout …An often-moving recollection of despotism and a lucid analysis of its genesis.”--Kirkus Reviews

With vivid memories from living through the worst dictatorships in modern history, author Wolfgang Mack reflects on what makes a country slide into complete authoritarian control and chaos, and how elected officials grab power in Parallels in Autocracy: How Nations Lose Their Liberty.

Mack was a young boy when the Nazi Party took over Germany and began a path of destruction that would cost millions of lives. This tumultuous time influenced his interest in autocratic leadership and dictatorship. When his grandchildren questioned “why” this act of genocide happened, Mack began to dive deeply into the underlying cause of politicians’ abuse of power - the rights and wrongs in the politics of nations - and basic human morality.

In Parallels in Autocracy, Mack – whose career led him to lead business enterprises in several other countries under dictatorship rule – combines his personal journey and political analysis to assess the terrible damage autocracy does to civil society, and how a legitimately elected leader is able to gain control. Parallels in Autocracy also includes an overview of our current political systems and present trends in national leadership and assesses if our leaders are honestly and fairly carrying out the duties of their oath of office and truly putting the interest of the people first.

“There is indeed one political message in this book: it is to remind all of us that our liberty and our democratic way of governing ourselves must never be taken for granted,” says Mack. “Too many nations have fallen into the trap of complacency even when they could have seen the tell-tale signs of overly-ambitious politicians leading them into the national disaster that follows a slide into dictatorship.”

Bio:

WOLFGANG MACK witnessed his country’s slide into dictatorship while growing up in Nazi Germany. After surviving the war, he studied engineering and economics in Germany and Austria before moving to the United States under a post-graduate Fulbright scholarship. Mack managed multiple industrial enterprises in countries under strict dictatorships, later representing industry associations and becoming a lecturer and serving on several non-profit boards. He is now retired and resides with his wife of over 50 years in Seattle.