A comprehensive book on Stalin's life as reflected in his interaction with people close to him: family, party members, friends and the fate of these people. The author personally interviewed some of their descendants, used recently uncovered/made accessible Soviet archive materials. Lots of references (full list at the back), footnotes, a few photographs. It's the most well-grounded and interesting work on Stalin's court I've read (including a few originals in Russian) in a way how it's written: not a dry research but a vivid journalistic coverage.

It shows Stalin not as a black&white person but as a live one with all the contradictions, weaknesses and strengths. ( )

Significant insight into the madness that was Bolshevism. ( )

This book presents in great detail, the rise and fall of the various powerful personalities, their wives and lovers. The appalling cruelty of the Terror and the war are revealed in the rise and fall of the people around Stalin. What made the most telling impression was the staggering numbers of people who were killed, or who starved to death in the famines and executions of the Terror. The bizarre personal lives of the leaders of the Secret Police such as Lavrenti Beria and Yehzov are revealed in detail. The book's focus is limited and because of that, one will be disappointed if looking for an historical or strategic account of the the war and other major events, however this lengthy book is a fascinating account of an era in history when 20,000,000 people list their lives and another 28,000,000 were dislocated to the gulags. While almost any history will outline the horrific losses of the holocaust, far fewer pay attention to staggering losses of Stalin's rule. ( )

To a reader unfamiliar with Soviet history should read Lenin by Robert Service and Young Stalin by Montefiore before reading Stalin... ( )

Not read yet.