Via meticulous research and mesmerizing testimonies, Rees expertly reveals the "malleability of the human mind."
A dual biography of two of history’s most notorious dictators from a master historian who has “spent the last thirty years making documentaries and writing books about the Third Reich, Stalinism and the Second World War.”
Referencing and updating Alan Bullock’s Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives (1992), British historian Rees uses “millions of words of original eyewitness testimony,” much of it never published before, to create this rich biographical and historical study. “Hitler and Stalin were catapulted into prominence only in the wake of an epoch-shattering event over which they had no control,” World War I, and both believed they had the perfect vision for building and maintaining power for their nations. After the incisive, context-setting preface and introduction, the author proceeds in largely chronological fashion, beginning with the 1939 nonaggression pact that divided Poland, an agreement so cynical between the two former ideological enemies, the Communists and the Nazis, that even Stalin did not believe the global community would accept it. "The Soviet and Nazi governments may have been far apart in their ideological and political goals,” writes Rees, “but in the practical mechanics of oppression they were closely linked." Both dictators presided over unprecedented programs of mass deportations and launched ambitious military plans to opposite effect—e.g., Stalin's obliteration of the elite officer corps left his army weakened while Hitler was able to invade Western Europe. As the invasion of Russia became imminent, Hitler professed overweening confidence and Stalin dithered; the Russian leader was incompetent as a military commander, but he had to project a fatherly air to keep up morale. Each leader demonstrated "monumental disdain for the suffering of his troops,” and each understood the power of hunger as a method of control. Ultimately, they shared an idea that Stalin articulated: “War is pitiless…there must be no mercy.” Rees concludes with an appalling comparison of their respective numbers killed and how “of the two tyrants…it is Hitler who is more broadly seen as a symbol of evil today.”
Via meticulous research and mesmerizing testimonies, Rees expertly reveals the "malleability of the human mind."Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-61039-964-7
Page Count: 528
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.
An insider’s chronicle of a pivotal presidential campaign.
Several months into the mounting political upheaval of Donald Trump’s second term and following a wave of bestselling political exposés, most notably Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin on Joe Biden’s health and late decision to step down, former Vice President Harris offers her own account of the consequential months surrounding Biden’s withdrawal and her swift campaign for the presidency. Structured as brief chapters with countdown headers from 107 days to Election Day, the book recounts the campaign’s daily rigors: vetting a running mate, navigating back-to-back rallies, preparing for the convention and the debate with Trump, and deflecting obstacles in the form of both Trump’s camp and Biden’s faltering team. Harris aims to set the record straight on issues that have remained hotly debated. While acknowledging Biden’s advancing decline, she also highlights his foreign-policy steadiness: “His years of experience in foreign policy clearly showed….He was always focused, always commander in chief in that room.” More blame is placed on his inner circle, especially Jill Biden, whom Harris faults for pushing him beyond his limits—“the people who knew him best, should have realized that any campaign was a bridge too far.” Throughout, she highlights her own qualifications and dismisses suggestions that an open contest might have better served the party: “If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.” Facing Trump’s increasingly unhinged behavior, Harris never openly doubts her ability to confront him. Yet she doesn’t fully persuade the reader that she had the capacity to counter his dominance, suggesting instead that her defeat stemmed from a lack of time—a theme underscored by the urgency of the book’s title. If not entirely sanguine about the future, she maintains a clear-eyed view of the damage already done: “Perhaps so much damage that we will have to re-create our government…something leaner, swifter, and much more efficient.”
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781668211656
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.
The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.
According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy, which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9780063226562
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
