About this title: This intimate biography of Joseph Stalin is also a group portrait of Stalin and those around him during his 30-year rule of the Soviet Union--including Beria, Molotov, Stalin's wife, Nadya, and others in his court. It is thick with details of everyday life, and it is this detail that demythologizes the Soviet dictator, and which reveals his monstrous, complicated psyche. Montefiore never skirts the history, nor the ideology, and Stalin's crimes are on full display here. For this book, Montefiore did prodigious research in Russian archives, and interviewed those who were there, as well as ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First Issue In This Edition
Binding: Card Cover
Publisher: Phoenix Books, London
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780753817667ISBN:0753817667
Description: Very Good. Very good. A history of Stalin's imperial court. Book described: " This grim masterpiece...the personal details are riveting. " 720 pages. A clean copy. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: PHOENIX
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780753817667ISBN:0753817667
Description: Published by Phoenix in 2004. Paperback. Number of pages: 852. Condition: Good. Used book but in Good Condition for sensible price. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Phoenix
Date Published: 01/06/2004
ISBN-13:9780753817667ISBN:0753817667
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Phoenix
Date Published: 01/06/2004
ISBN-13:9780753817667ISBN:0753817667
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Phoenix
Date Published: 01/06/2004
ISBN-13:9780753817667ISBN:0753817667
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9781400042302ISBN:1400042305
Description: Good in Good jacket. First Edition. 88-W this copy states''copyright''2003 Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Phoenix, London
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780753817667ISBN:0753817667
Description: Very Good + 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 720pp. B/W photographs. Very good clean copy-some sl. tanning to interior and sl. marking to leaf edge-some creasing to cover and sl. separation at lower right corner. read more
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred Knopf Pub.
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9781400042302ISBN:1400042305
Description: A Very Good+ book and a Very Good+ dustjacket. Cover tips a little bumped, and a few light wrinkles along the dj edges. 785 pages. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2005-09-13
ISBN-13:9781400076789ISBN:1400076781
Description: Fair. PLEASE NOTE: Book contains water damage throughout book. Does not effect reading. This is a used book in good condition with normal wear and tear and may contain some writing, minor shelf wear and creases. Items are uploaded via ISBN and stock photo may be different from actual book cover. read more
Description: Good. Used copy-Because of our high volume, we can not accurately describe each book, so we list the MINIMUM condition you can expect; most are better than the condition listed. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Phoenix, London
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780753817667ISBN:0753817667
Description: Near Fine. First printing of the trade paperback edition. Book has very light back bottom crease else Near Fine/Unread condition in large paperback format in glossy pictorial wraps. read more
"I don't know. I may need something lighter -- and soon!
Update: I may write some more on this later. At times fascinating, heartbreaking, but also at times boring read. Montefiore has all kinds of juicy gossip, due to the opening up of old Soviet archives. He takes the new material and attaches it to the history of the period. It works well -- up until WW 2, and then he has to cover a lot of big events quickly -- and this in a 650 page book! When Montefiore gets to WW 2, I sensed a creeping admiration for Stalin starting to show its head. This is due largely Stalin's sensing the historical moment as the Germans approached the gates of Moscow, and thus holding his ground Whatever. Chapter 20 (Blood Bath by Numbers) was the keeper, which goes on to describe "execution" of order 00447. Basically this was a death quota order that resulted in the deaths of thousands. Such was the Terror. Montefiore suggests that there was some sort of linkage between it and the suicide of Stalin's wife, Nadja. I'm not sure I'm buying into that answering the Why? of the Terror. But it may answer Stalin's bizarre tendency to imprison -- and often kill, the wives of high ranking Soviet officials (and friends). Stalin was a dick."
"Outstanding. Throbs with life, death, passion, fear, joy, terror...a prism to view world affairs and one of the most remarkable people who ever lived.
Stalins various cronies, victims, foes and deluded friends....appear in the book with astute comments on their motives, physical appearance, personal quirks and other defining attributes.
"Like recent studies of Hitler, Sebag Montefiore claims in the introduction that it is his 'mission... to go beyond the traditional explanations of Stalin as "enigma", "madman" or "Satanic genius", and that of his comrades as "men without biographies", dreary moustachioed sycophants in black-and-white photographs.' He is helped by the recent opening of the Soviet archives, which he makes excellent and cautious use of.
The result is that 'Stalin becomes a more understandable and intimate character, if no less repellent.' Hence we are shown Stalin's disarming charm and wit, his penchant for watching movies in the early hours and his liking of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, along with grief at his wife's (Nadya's) suicide -- often displayed years after the event. On the other hand, Stalin was deeply paranoid, particularly regarding women after Nadya's death. He closely supervised the purges of the party, using crayon to indicate who should be spared from the lists, and during the Terror met Yezhov at least 1,100 times. A carefully worded appeal to the leader could exonerate oneself from a misdemeanor, real or imagined. Yet he would never forget a mistake or a slip of the tongue, using it against the person in question years down the line in order to accuse them of being disloyal to the party.
Stalin's comrades are also described in great deal, and their loyalty to Stalin was remarkable (Molotov remained reliable, even after his wife was arrested). Sometimes it can be difficult to put a name to a character, but a handy list is provided and it is not the author's fault: rather that Stalin's most trusted sidekicks changed so often. Still, it is difficult to forget Beria's perverse cruelty and Yezhov's indefatigable energy at rooting out enemies which ultimately proved to be his downfall, or the Politburo and Zhukov working with little to no sleep during the war, not to mention Stalin's daughter's photograph that provoked her father's disapproval (soon to be followed by an affair that soured their relationship).
Simon Schama reportedly said that he 'loved the totalitarian high baroque sleaze of Montefiore's Stalin: The Court of the Red Star'. Totalitarian high baroque sleaze really sums it up."
"This scholarly work becomes a page turner almost a la Dan Brown despite its academic approach. No matter how much one thinks they know about this period, Montefiore cites many new sources throughout the book. It is horrifying and engaging simultaneously."
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