This book shows how the forces of freedom are everywhere challenged by a newly energized spirit of tyranny, whether it be Jihadist terrorism, Putin's imperialism, or the ambitions of China's dictatorship. It will show why tyranny is a permanent danger on the human landscape by following its strange career from Homeric Bronze Age warriors through the founding of the world empires of Alexander the Great and Rome, and the medieval struggle between the City of God and the City of Man, leading to the state-building despots of the Modern Age, including the Tudors and 'enlightened despots' such as Peter the Great. The book explores the psychology of tyranny from Nero to Gaddafi, and how the character of tyranny changes beginning with the Jacobin Terror into millenarian revolution. Written in an engaging, jargon-free style, it will appeal to anyone interested in the danger posed by tyranny and terror in today's world