STALIN

In this book about the key man in present global activities, the author writes always with regard to Stalin's personality and viewpoint, carrying the reader from Stalin's birth through years of growing power and changing ideals to the present. Through a clear though not thoroughly detailed or documented presentation the author sets forth distinct theories about Stalin...Stalin the Georgian who although he worked as a professional revolutionist for Lenin ultimately succumbed to the lure of nationalism and imperialism...and again, unable to escape his background, which was not that of an intellectual, spawned a group of non-intellectuals in the class of officials. Here, too is Stalin of the purges, of collectivization, who took the reins of Lenin's horse, the Soviet Union, and rode it calmly but ruthlessly, effecting the great Tsarist aim of uniting the five Russian nations and extending the influence of Russia...the author does not condone these acts. The story of a life and a strategy...the mist of myth is not quite cleared away, but a mystery is explored with an analysis and from a viewpoint which will make excellent comparative reading with the more trenchant and less optimistic book of Louis Fischer, The Life and Death of Stalin.