This is the story of modern history’s most treacherous and terrifying dictator.
Stalin was a man of many facets: he studied for the priesthood, he was a romantic poet, a bank-robber, an assassin, a revolutionary, a ruthless leader, and, for a time, one of the two most powerful men in the world.
But after he took power he was also one of the bloodiest and cruellest leaders in all history.
He cracked an iron whip over Russia and Eastern Europe as millions fell to his purges.
His bizarre, sinister life was matched only by his strange death in 1953 and his subsequent fall and condemnation by his successors.
‘a whale of a book … extremely readable, the verve and gusto of the writing are unflagging to the end.’ - The Spectator
‘A prodigious biography… Fascinating. Valuable.’ - New York Herald Tribune
‘a triumph of biography … a clear and fluent style, a powerful picture of one of the most influential men in European History.’ - Will Durant
‘few writers have come closer to capturing the spiritual essence of their subject’ - Harrison Salisbury
‘A gripping wide-read chronicle, narrated with a wealth of detail, colour and documentation. Once you become enmeshed in the book’s tentacles of intrigue, it takes you by the throat’ - Saturday Review Syndicate
Robert Payne (1911-1983) had over a hundred books published on a wide range of subjects during his lifetime. Critics raved about ‘his vast erudition,’ ‘his magic power over words,’ and that rare ability ‘to capture the spiritual essence of his subject.’ The Russian series, in particular The Life and Death of Lenin and The Rise and Fall of Stalin, raised his reputation as biographer to enormous stature.
Stalin was a man of many facets: he studied for the priesthood, he was a romantic poet, a bank-robber, an assassin, a revolutionary, a ruthless leader, and, for a time, one of the two most powerful men in the world.
But after he took power he was also one of the bloodiest and cruellest leaders in all history.
He cracked an iron whip over Russia and Eastern Europe as millions fell to his purges.
His bizarre, sinister life was matched only by his strange death in 1953 and his subsequent fall and condemnation by his successors.
Praise for Robert Payne:
‘a whale of a book … extremely readable, the verve and gusto of the writing are unflagging to the end.’ - The Spectator
‘A prodigious biography… Fascinating. Valuable.’ - New York Herald Tribune
‘a triumph of biography … a clear and fluent style, a powerful picture of one of the most influential men in European History.’ - Will Durant
‘few writers have come closer to capturing the spiritual essence of their subject’ - Harrison Salisbury
‘A gripping wide-read chronicle, narrated with a wealth of detail, colour and documentation. Once you become enmeshed in the book’s tentacles of intrigue, it takes you by the throat’ - Saturday Review Syndicate
Robert Payne (1911-1983) had over a hundred books published on a wide range of subjects during his lifetime. Critics raved about ‘his vast erudition,’ ‘his magic power over words,’ and that rare ability ‘to capture the spiritual essence of his subject.’ The Russian series, in particular The Life and Death of Lenin and The Rise and Fall of Stalin, raised his reputation as biographer to enormous stature.
