Throughout history, behind so many de facto rulers, there can often be found a shadowy puppetmaster pulling the strings. Using examples from Machiavelli, Catherine de Medici and Alexander Hamilton to Dick Cheney, Zhou Enlai and Joseph Stalin, Kerwin Swint presents profiles of notorious “king whisperers," spanning the globe and historical periods, showing how they employed unique styles of power politics to wrest control. From spies, silver-tongued devils, and the truly evil, this is a brilliant tapestry of behind-the-scenes schemers of all shapes and sizes.