Service methodically debunks nearly the entire corpus of conventional wisdom about Stalin. Stalin was viewed by many as a man with no aesthetic sensibility, a dull, bureaucratic, power-hungry Georgian-turned-Russian chauvinist: Genghis Khan with a telephone. They describe Stalin as a bureaucrat with little intellectual skill, a betrayer of Vladimir Lenin's revolutionary ideas, a non-entity in the Communist Party until Lenin's death. The most widely cited works on Stalin were written by his political opponents, people like Leon Trotsky and Nikita Khrushchev, or dissident writers like Roy Medvedev. Stalin left no diary or memoirs, and what we do know about the 'man of steel' comes not from him but from others. Service's exhaustive biography reads as one long corrective to the current historiography on Stalin. Service states that his book 'is aimed at showing that Stalin was a more dynamic and diverse figure than has conventionally been supposed' (p. Montefiore hopes that his book will make Stalin 'a more understandable and intimate character, if no less repellent' (p. When the subject concerns a brutal, complex, and monumental figure like Josif Stalin, it is useful to let the authors speak for themselves. The wording of each text helps to illustrate the authors' distinct styles and approaches. triumph of research.' - John le Carre, Observer Books of the Year.Robert Service and Simon Sebag Montefiore have produced strikingly different books, although they both offer a revision of the standard history concerning one of the twentieth century's bloodiest dictatorships.

the personal details are riveting.' - Antonia Fraser, Mail on Sunday. this book will provide new insights on every page.' - Anne Applebaum, Evening Standard. 'The most civilized and elegant chronicle of brutality and ruthlessness I have ever read.' - Ruth Rendell, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year.

'Who was the boy from Georgia who rose to rule the Empire of the Tsars? Who were his Himmler, Goring, Goebbels? How did the 'top ten' families live? In this history of Stalin's imperial court, the fear and betrayal, privilege and debauchery, family life and murderous brutality are brought blazingly to life.' - from the rear outer cover. History Book of the Year, British Book Awards. Illustrated with sections of black-and-white photographic plates and preliminary page maps. Includes Praise for Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar About the Author Dedication List of Illustrations Stalin Family Tree Maps Introduction and Acknowledgments List of Characters Prologue: THe Holiday Dinner: 8 November 1932 Postscript Select Bibliography and Index. Fine unread condition photographic softcover wraps.

In the court of the red tsar