The Language of Evil by Guy Doza
Posted on February 11 2025
A new book by Guy Doza, a professional speechwriter for politicians and business leaders, is to reveal the patterns of speech used by dictators to seize and keep power.
The Language of Evil: How Dictators Manipulate the Masses and Wield Power Through Words will be published by Canbury Press in hardback in April 2025.
Martin Hickman, MD of Canbury Press, bought World Rights from Lisa Moylett at CMM, who also sold Doza’s first book, How to Apologise for Killing a Cat: Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion, to Canbury.
In an attempt to denote the rhetoric of tyranny, The Language of Evil delves into the careers and wordplay of 18 power-hungry despots, including Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Saddam Hussein. The female dictators in the book include Elizabeth I, China’s Wu Zetian, Eva Peron and Indira Gandhi.
As well as highlighting the linguistic techniques favoured by each dictator, The Language of Evil identifies the common patterns of language between them. For throughout history, across many different languages and eras, the book shows that despots have consistently reused the same rhetorical techniques.
Martin Hickman, Managing Director of Canbury Press, said: “Although these dictators are cast apart by language, character and epoch, they notably share the same patterns of rhetoric. Once you know these techniques, you will start hearing them everywhere – almost certainly, every time you hear a politician. Guy’s book is not just a fascinating new slant on some of the familiar monsters that have long fascinated readers (as well as some new ones) – but a warning on how to spot the tyrants of tomorrow.”
Guy Doza said: “In a post-truth age where people are once more venturing into populist rhetoric, we risk ushering in the return of a way of speaking we should resist.”
The Language of Evil will be published on April 24th 2025. Pre-order your copy here.