Stalin

The Kremlin Mountaineer (Icons)

By: Paul Johnson

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Paul Johnson, the most celebrated popular historian of our time, takes a scalpel to Stalin, whom he considers "one of the outstanding monsters of history." Johnson sets forth the essence of Stalin’s life, character, and career. "It has been a hateful task, which has caused me much pain and disgust," he writes with characteristic candor. "But it has been a duty I have performed not without a certain grim satisfaction."

"Stalin poses a particular challenge to a biographer: How does one render such a monster human? While Johnson doesn't flinch from chronicling Stalin's rise to absolute power - the remorseless vendetta against Leon Trotsky, the development of the Gulag, the extermination of millions of peasants - he also shows Stalin playing billiards, listening to his adored Mozart, and annotating Marx’s Capital in the margins. It is, in concise form, the story of Russia in the twentieth century: dark and murderous, a stage on which to display humanity's infinite capacity for self-destruction.

©2014 Paul Johnson (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Psychology Analysis

This biography analyzes Stalin's psychology more that the events that surround him. I enjoyed it very much but was disappointed that it didn't expose the international intrigue such as Stalin's instigating a war with Europe or stealing U.S. secrets for development of a nuclear bomb. etc.

The Dark Man of Steel

"I shall bring him forth and shine on him the pitiless light of history."
- Paul Johnson, Stalin: The Kremlin Mountaineer

Good biographies are difficult. But short biographies amaze me. They have to float between giving enough information to pull the reader in, and history to give context without drowning the valuable space with background. Paul Johnson, one of the great, popular biographers of the 2oth Century pulls it off well with his short survey of Stalin.

Both my wife and I loved micro biographies when we were kids. I can't even remember the series I'd devour but my local library and school library both carried short biographies of famous Americans, etc., and while aiming for the 4th to 6th grade crowd, the books seldom wrote down to their audience. Even as an 8-year-old, I appreciated that. While I still love the short format, I'm not sure yet how I feel about the Icon Series (from Amazon publishing). Most of these are only available on Kindle and as a 2013 article in the Atlantic pointed out, of the first 10 books in the series, only one was about a woman. So, I'm giving them a chance. I do love Oxford's 'Very Short Introduction' series, so hopefully, I don't get into these and find myself disappointed 4 or 5 books in.

Simple and direct

This a simple, but direct biography of Stalin. Paul Johnson is one of the best biographers that I read. He is great on extract the most relevant facts and write good, precise books. This one follows the rule. In addition, in a moment where many try to create an imaginary figure of Stalin, it is mandatory to remember the cruel tyrant he was.

nice short history

Nice review of Stalin and some of Russian history helps you understand a little bit more why Russia is unique still today

Short but Valuable

Stalin was without doubt one of the worst individuals to ever walk the planet. This volume gives a short and concise history of the man and his atrocities if you don't have the time and inclination to spend time with someone who was responsible for more death and destruction than than anyone but Mao in China. But it is time well spent to understand the horror of Communism, in a world where the brutalities of the so so distant past are being forgotten. Hitler's Germany was a paradise ( Except for Jews, Gypsies, Slavs,and the mentally disabled) in comparison to the Soviet Union that Lenin formed and Stalin later lead. There life was lived by all in terror and apprehension knowing that anyone , at any level, was subject to instant defamation and slow death by starvation, overwork in a freezing Gulag, or simply a bullet in the back of the head.

lnformatkive and very sadly enjoyable

The early 20th Century was a pretty rough neighborhood. This is about the man who shared with Hitler the honor of top thug. Actually Stalin was worse as he fast tracked Communism and Leftism to the threat it remains today.

Great intro to an awful person

A grim reminder that individual choices matter. Stalin didn't have to be heinous, sadistic, mass murderer...but he was.

Brief History of Stalin

This is a great short history of one of the world's most terrifying and unique individuals of history. This book covers major events in Stalin's life and how they shaped him and he shaped Russia and the world.

Informative and intriguing !

Book is chick full of details that intrigue one to.go deeper into the criminal mind of Joseph Stalin.

Well done, but for me, too short

Stalin's life is a vast subject. I thought I could get away with dipping my toe into the water, so to speak. What is here is well-written. But it is like a trip through the zoo at 60 MPH in 5 minutes. I have to invest more time and money to do justice to the topic.