Stalin: A Biography

Stalin: A Biography - Paperback

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Stalin: A Biography
  • Stalin: A Biography
Stalin: A Biography - Paperback

Stalin: A Biography - Paperback

by Robert Service
$50.40
$50.40

Book Overview

by Robert Service (Author)

Overthrowing the conventional image of Stalin as an uneducated political administrator inexplicably transformed into a pathological killer, Robert Service reveals a more complex and fascinating story behind this notorious twentieth-century figure. Drawing on unexplored archives and personal testimonies gathered from across Russia and Georgia, this is the first full-scale biography of the Soviet dictator in twenty years.

Service describes in unprecedented detail the first half of Stalin's life--his childhood in Georgia as the son of a violent, drunkard father and a devoted mother; his education and religious training; and his political activity as a young revolutionary. No mere messenger for Lenin, Stalin was a prominent activist long before the Russian Revolution. Equally compelling is the depiction of Stalin as Soviet leader. Service recasts the image of Stalin as unimpeded despot; his control was not limitless. And his conviction that enemies surrounded him was not entirely unfounded.

Stalin was not just a vengeful dictator but also a man fascinated by ideas and a voracious reader of Marxist doctrine and Russian and Georgian literature as well as an internationalist committed to seeing Russia assume a powerful role on the world stage. In examining the multidimensional legacy of Stalin, Service helps explain why later would-be reformers--such as Khrushchev and Gorbachev--found the Stalinist legacy surprisingly hard to dislodge.

Rather than diminishing the horrors of Stalinism, this is an account all the more disturbing for presenting a believable human portrait. Service's lifetime engagement with Soviet Russia has resulted in the most comprehensive and compelling portrayal of Stalin to date.
Number of Pages: 736
Dimensions: 1.4 x 9.2 x 6.1 IN
Illustrated: Yes
Publication Date: October 01, 2006
ISBN9780674022584
Author Robert Service
PublisherBelknap Press
GenreBiography
FormatPaperback
PublishedOctober 2006
LanguageENG- English
Pages736
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography Nonfiction

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About Robert Service

Often referred to as the "Bard of the Yukon," Robert Service was a prolific novelist and poet, publishing numerous poetry collections, two autobiographies, and six novels during his lifetime. Though he was born in England, he is best known for his writings set in Northwest Canada featuring the Klondike Gold Rush. Service died in 1958, and has since been honored on a Canadian postage stamp and has had various schools in Canada named after him.

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