Megalomania: Too Much is Never Enough

by Philippe Trétiack, Philippe Trétiack

A phenomenon as old as humanity, megalomania has become, now more than ever, an attitude reflective of our contemporary culture. It reveals a universal to be noticed and unique, political and dangerous. In this book, Philippe Tretiack casts his humorous and scathing eye over a gallery of megalomaniacs who push the envelope, paying alarmed homage to these high priests of excess and their dazzling displays of eccentricity. From power-grasping leaders to rappers bedecked in bling, from showbiz stars to bloodthirsty war chiefs to decadent dandies, Megalomania shakes up the artists of this new nihilism, in which materialism flirts with mortality. extravagance as a dare.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Architect and urban planner by training, Philippe Trétiack is a journalist and writer. He has been a reporter for thirty years and collaborates with several magazines, including Vanity Fair, Elle décoration and Air France Magazine. As an author, he has published some twenty books including Faut-il pendre les architectes ? (Seuil, 2001), De notre envoyé spécial (Editions de l’Olivier, 2015), and L’Architecture à toute vitesse (Seuil, 2016).

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting photo rich rumination on the nature of megalomania, which in the author's view is not necessarily a bad quality as at times it can lead to really positive, uplifting achievements-although it mostly leads to men dressing themselves as ridiculously as the potentate on the book's cover.