For eleven years from 1989 to 2000, dictator Slobodan Milosevic ruled the Balkan republic of Serbia. Notorious for repression at home and war with his neighbors, Milosevic frequently earned international condemnation. NATO planes repeatedly bombed his troops and cities, and an international tribunal accused him of war crimes. He became closely associated with a new entry in the vocabulary of hatred: "ethnic cleansing," the practice of violently expelling citizens of a particular ethnic group from their homes and land. Longstanding resentment led Serbians to drive Milosevic from office in late 2000.

Born on August 29, 1941, Milosevic overcame family tragedy to climb to the top of Serbia's socialist government. His school teacher father, his political activist mother, and an uncle all committed suicide. Graduating from the University of Belgrade with a law degree in 1964, he needed barely fourteen years to become head of the state-run gas company and then a leading bank. Marrying...