# How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders - Hardcover

by **Suetonius** (Author), **Josiah Osgood** (Editor)

**What would Caligula do? What the worst Roman emperors can teach us about how _not_ to lead**

If recent history has taught us anything, it's that sometimes the best guide to leadership is the negative example. But that insight is hardly new. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Suetonius wrote _Lives of the Caesars_, perhaps the greatest negative leadership book of all time. He was ideally suited to write about terrible political leaders; after all, he was also the author of _Famous Prostitutes_ and _Words of Insult_, both sadly lost. In _How to Be a Bad Emperor_, Josiah Osgood provides crisp new translations of Suetonius's briskly paced, darkly comic biographies of the Roman emperors Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero. Entertaining and shocking, the stories of these ancient anti-role models show how power inflames leaders' worst tendencies, causing almost incalculable damage.

Complete with an introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, _How to Be a Bad Emperor_ is both a gleeful romp through some of the nastiest bits of Roman history and a perceptive account of leadership gone monstrously awry. We meet Caesar, using his aunt's funeral to brag about his descent from gods and kings--and hiding his bald head with a comb-over and a laurel crown; Tiberius, neglecting public affairs in favor of wine, perverse sex, tortures, and executions; the insomniac sadist Caligula, flaunting his skill at cruel put-downs; and the matricide Nero, indulging his mania for public performance.

In a world bristling with strongmen eager to cast themselves as the Caesars of our day, _How to Be a Bad Emperor_ is a delightfully enlightening guide to the dangers of power without character.

### Author Biography

**Josiah Osgood** is professor and chair of classics at Georgetown University and the author of many books, including _Rome and the Making of a World State_, _150 BCE-20 BCE._ He lives in Washington, DC.

**Number of Pages:** 312

**Dimensions:** 1.2 x 6.9 x 4.7 IN

**Publication Date:** February 04, 2020

## Details

- **Price:** 16.95 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 16.95 USD | In stock |

## Images

- How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/how-to-be-a-bad-emperor-an-ancient-guide-to-truly-terrible-leaders-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-23