In Breaking the Real Axis of Evil, ambassador Mark Palmer has the gumption to argue what diplomats and political leaders dare not speak: that global peace will not be achieved until democracies replace the world's remaining dictatorships. We know that these dictators are at the root of terrorism and war. Under their stony gaze, millions have gone to their deaths, a great tidal wave of refugees has swept across the planet, and nations have been driven into poverty, famine, and despair. Drawing on over 25 years of extensive diplomatic experience, Ambassador Palmer asks us to embrace a bold vision of a world made safe by democracy. This is the story of the last 46 dictators, the strategy and tactics to oust them, and the need to empower the people of every nation to control their own destinies.

"The only problem with President Bush's axis of evil label is that it doesn't extend far enough, argues Palmer, in this primer to promoting democracy around the world. Palmer, the U.S. ambassador to Hungary when communism collapsed more than a decade ago, builds on his experience there to provide a list of what government, diplomats, non-governmental organizations and the media can do to unseat dictators." - Publishers Weekly

"This work offers a welcome alternative to some of the mailed-fist policies of today." - Library Journal

"One of the best but least noticed books among all tomes addressing the quest for peace in the post-September 11 era. . . . An invaluable foreign policy guide." - The Wall Street Journal

"Palmer makes an excellent case that the spirit is strong and that it must be sustained with international help." - The World Today

"If the United States under George W. Bush (or his successors) is to be an affective agitator for democracy worldwide, then Mark Palmer's Breaking the Real Axis of Evil must become required reading for U.S. diplomats-in-training at the Foreign Service Institute, and ought to be read at think tanks, universities, and national-security establishments throughout the democratic world." - Journal of Democracy

"Palmer, former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, argues that global peace cannot be achieved until democracies replace the world's last remaining dictators." - Bi-Monthly

"Palmer provides a practical handbook for how to put into effect a pro-democratic foreign policy for a U.S. government that is so minded." - Middle East Quarterly

"...should be required reading for every member of Congress and recommended for every citizen" - Chattanooga Times Free Press

"...a wonderful book—a moral and intellectual tour de force." - Book Review Digest