I read Rummel’s Death By Government when it was first published. Changed my outlook on government completely.
I just finished reading it recently. I think we had all heard of the 'Black Book of Communism', and the slaughters of the 20th Century, but 'Death By Government' really paints a very sickening picture of many countries and nationalities that took Government control to a brutal extreme. Obviously Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union, and Mao's PRC, were prominent - but this sickness knows no boundaries. Cambodia, Vietnam, Korea, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe reciprocating on innocent Germans, Bangladesh, etc ...
A depressing, but eye opening read.
Like you said - it really sharpens one's view of Government. Our Founding Father's had it right in wanting to keep Government small and limited - however Governments tend to grow. And they tend to find/invent internal enemies that need to be squashed.