Arthur E. Adams (1917–2007)

Stalin and His Times is a fair look at Stalin's rise to power and his totalitarian ruling of Russia. Adams never completely praises what Stalin did, but neither does he ever completely condemn him. Most historians gloss over the achievements that Stalin forced through and, rather, focus on the mass terror and death that accompanied the progress. Adams balances the two, never making excuses for the atrocities committed by Stalin's regime, but also pointing out that the modernization that occurred under Stalin. Still, maybe because it was written in 1972 and it was not known yet, or because of length constraints, Adams never gives statistics involving the number of people sent to the Gulags, or the minority groups sent into forced relocation. Ultimately, the reader gets a decent understanding of Stalin's Russia. However, it is not a book that I would recommend to new readers of Russian history. There are other history texts that while less kind to Stalin, nonetheless, cover more information in greater depth.… (more)

This is a good geographical history of Russian and Eastern Europe, following the political and cultural events that affected the region from the middle-ages to the modern day. The format consists of maps showing the political situation as of a certain date, or showing a movement over time, with each map accompanied by a couple pages of explanatory text. It is not sufficient in and of itself to learn the history of the region: the explanatory notes for each map are brief and assume a certain preexisting level of knowledge on the part of the reader. However, as a way to visually follow the course of historical developments, this book is an excellent adjunct resource.… (more)