(CNN) — "The Dictator's Playbook" might look like history, with much of the imagery in grainy black and white. But this PBS documentary series also provides modern-day resonance -- a guide to tyrants of the past, conveying lessons on how those tactics can be employed in the present.
Consisting of six hour-long instalments, the program kicks off with Kim Il Sung, the founder of the North Korean dynasty now ruled by his grandson, Kim Jong Un. Profiles of other infamous leaders -- Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, Saddam Hussein, Manuel Noriega, Idi Amin -- follow.