Stalin

Of all the despots of our time Joseph Stalin lasted the longest and wielded the greatest power and his secrets have been the most jealously guarded--even after his death. <p/> In this book the first to draw from recently released archives Robert Conquest gives us Stalin as a child and student; as a revolutionary and communist theoretician; as a political animal skilled in amassing power and absolutely ruthless in maintaining it. He presents the landmarks of Stalin's rule: the class with Lenin; collectivization; the Great Terror; the Nazi-Soviet pact and the Nazi-Soviet war; the anti-Semitic campaign that preceded his death; and the legacy he left behind. <p/> Distilling a lifetime's study weaving detail analysis and research Conquest has given us an extraordinarily powerful narrative of this incredible figure. <p/>Thoughtful and thorough and shot through with insight.--<i>The Washington Post Book World<br></i><br>Definitive . . . a magnificent even poetic act of historical retribution.--<i>The New Leader<br></i><br>Brilliant . . . this book probably is the most cogent and readable account of Stalin's life yet published.--<i>The San Diego Union</i>