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Stalin, Volume I
- Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 38 hrs and 47 mins
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Publisher's summary
A magnificent new biography that revolutionizes our understanding of Stalin and his world. It has the quality of myth: A poor cobbler's son, a seminarian from an oppressed outer province of the Russian Empire, reinvents himself as a revolutionary and finds a leadership role within a small group of marginal zealots. When the old world is unexpectedly brought down in a total war, the band seizes control of the country, and the new regime it founds as the vanguard of a new world order is ruthlessly dominated from within by the former seminarian until he stands as the absolute ruler of a vast and terrible state apparatus, with dominion over Eurasia. We think we know the story well. Remarkably, Stephen Kotkin's epic new biography shows us how much we still have to learn.
Volume One of Stalin begins and ends in January 1928 as Stalin boards a train bound for Siberia, about to embark upon the greatest gamble of his political life. He is now the ruler of the largest country in the world, but a poor and backward one, far behind the great capitalist countries in industrial and military power, encircled on all sides. In Siberia, Stalin conceives of the largest program of social reengineering ever attempted: the root-and-branch uprooting and collectivization of agriculture and industry across the entire Soviet Union. To stand up to the capitalists he will force into being an industrialized, militarized, collectivized great power is an act of will. Millions will die, and many more will suffer, but Stalin will push through to the end against all resistance and doubts. Where did such power come from? The product of a decade of scrupulous and intrepid research, Stalin contains a host of astonishing revelations. Kotkin gives an intimate first-ever view of the Bolshevik regime’s inner geography, bringing to the fore materials from Soviet military intelligence and the secret police.
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Shimon Peres was in his early 20s when he first met David Ben-Gurion. Although the state that Ben-Gurion would lead through war and peace had not yet declared its precarious independence, the "Old Man", as he was called even then, was already a mythic figure. Peres, who came of age in the cabinets of Ben-Gurion, is uniquely placed to evoke this figure of stirring contradictions - a prophetic visionary and a canny pragmatist who early grasped the necessity of compromise for national survival.
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Great Perfomance, Less than Stellar Story
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1946
- The Making of the Modern World
- By: Victor Sebestyen
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
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In 1946, Victor Sebestyen creates a taut, panoramic narrative and takes us to meetings that changed the world: to Berlin in July 1945, when Truman tells Stalin that we have successfully tested the bomb; to Ye'nan, China, in January 1946, when General George Marshall tells the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong that Americans won't send troops to China, assuring that the Communists will attain power.
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An education. Somber, detailed, many-faceted
- By Philo on 08-20-16
By: Victor Sebestyen
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Iron Curtain
- The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956
- By: Anne Applebaum
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 26 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union to its surprise and delight found itself in control of a huge swath of territory in Eastern Europe. Stalin and his secret police set out to convert a dozen radically different countries to Communism, a completely new political and moral system. In Iron Curtain, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anne Applebaum describes how the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe were created and what daily life was like once they were complete.
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Important story, imperfectly executed
- By jackifus on 12-08-12
By: Anne Applebaum
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Overthrow
- America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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"Regime change" did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush, but has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the Spanish-American War and the Cold War and into our own time, the United States has not hesitated to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals.
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Looking at the dark side
- By Stanley on 08-02-06
By: Stephen Kinzer
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The General
- Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved
- By: Jonathan Fenby
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
- Length: 28 hrs and 51 mins
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No leader of modern times was more uniquely patriotic than Charles de Gaulle. As founder and first president of the Fifth Republic, General de Gaulle saw himself as "carrying France on [his] shoulders." In his 20s, he fought for France in the trenches and at the epic battle of Verdun. In the 1930s, he waged a lonely battle to enable France to better resist Hitler's Germany. Thereafter, he twice rescued the nation from defeat and decline by extraordinary displays of leadership, political acumen, daring, and bluff, heading off civil war and leaving a heritage adopted by his successors of right and left.
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Book Great Read. Narrator Horrible-slow dead voice
- By marigoyle on 10-23-13
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The Empire Must Die
- Russia's Revolutionary Collapse, 1900 - 1917
- By: Mikhail Zygar
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins
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The window between two equally stifling autocracies - the imperial family and the communists - was open only briefly, in the last couple of years of the 19th century until the end of WWI, by which time the revolution was in full fury. From the last years of Tolstoy until the death of the Tsar and his family, however, Russia experimented with liberalism and cultural openness. Novelists and playwrights blossomed and political ideas were swapped in coffee houses.
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An excellent look at an interesting history.
- By brian on 06-22-18
By: Mikhail Zygar
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Reset
- Iran, Turkey, and America's Future
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
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What can the United States do to help realize its dream of a peaceful, democratic Middle East? Stephen Kinzer offers a surprising answer in this paradigm-shifting book. Two countries in the region, he argues, are America's logical partners in the 21st century: Turkey and Iran.
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challenges stereotypes
- By R.S. on 06-14-10
By: Stephen Kinzer
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A Savage War of Peace
- Algeria 1954-1962
- By: Alistair Horne
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 29 hrs and 56 mins
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The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused the fall of six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict, and as many European settlers were driven into exile. From the perspective of half a century, it looks less like the last colonial war than the first postmodern one.
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Excellent history of France's Viet Nam
- By David on 04-10-16
By: Alistair Horne
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The Arabs
- A History
- By: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 27 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.
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Superb Book About the Arab World
- By Nostromo on 05-29-16
By: Eugene Rogan
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Becoming Hitler
- The Making of a Nazi
- By: Thomas Weber
- Narrated by: Alex Hyde-White
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
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In Becoming Hitler, award-winning historian Thomas Weber examines Adolf Hitler's time in Munich between 1918 and 1926, the years when Hitler shed his awkward, feckless persona and transformed himself into a savvy opportunistic political operator who saw himself as Germany's messiah. The story of Hitler's transformation is one of a fateful match between man and city. After opportunistically fluctuating between the ideas of the left and the right, Hitler emerged as an astonishingly flexible leader of Munich's right-wing movement.
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talented malevolence c a dash of amazing luck
- By emilio squillante on 11-05-18
By: Thomas Weber
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The Devils' Alliance
- Hitler's Pact With Stalin, 1939-1941
- By: Roger Moorhouse
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
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History remembers the Soviets and the Nazis as bitter enemies and ideological rivals - the two opposing totalitarian regimes of World War II whose conflict would be the defining and deciding clash of the war. Yet for nearly a third of the conflict's entire timespan, Hitler and Stalin stood side by side as partners.
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Fascinating look at much neglected peiod
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-11-15
By: Roger Moorhouse
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The Fate of Africa
- A History of the Continent Since Independence
- By: Martin Meredith
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 29 hrs and 22 mins
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Martin Meredith has revised this classic history to incorporate important recent developments, including the Darfur crisis in Sudan, Robert Mugabe’s continued destructive rule in Zimbabwe, controversies over Western aid and exploitation of Africa’s resources, the growing importance and influence of China, and the democratic movement roiling the North African countries of Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.
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Africa: Land of Hope and Horror
- By Jeff on 03-08-14
By: Martin Meredith
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Worthwhile if you haven't read a Hitler biography
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The Whisperers
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A Real Life Dystopian Nightmare
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Hitler
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From the author of Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 comes a riveting account of the dictator's final years, when he got the war he wanted but his leadership led to catastrophe for his nation, the world, and himself. Volker Ullrich offers fascinating new insight into Hitler's character and personality, vividly portraying the insecurity, obsession with minutiae, and narcissistic penchant for gambling that led Hitler to overrule his subordinates and then blame them for his failures.
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Had to return because of narration
- By Thomas C on 03-26-21
By: Volker Ullrich, and others
What listeners say about Stalin, Volume I
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nostromo
- 03-23-15
Excellent Book But First Time Listener Beware
I am an avid student of history, especially relating to the First World War and the period of time preceding the war and subsequent to it. I also an avid student of the Russian Revolution, Russian Civil War and period following it. This book was extremely well written and it probably one of the finest biographies I have read about Stalin. That being said, there are two issues that one should consider before purchasing this book.
First- as has been pointed out by other reviewers, the narration is not as good as it could and should be. While I did not mind the narrator's pace and tone, it bothered me greatly and detracted from my enjoyment of the book that he could not correctly pronounce the Russian names of the historical figures in the book. It seems logical to me that if you are going to narrate a book with non-English character names, you need to do a good job with the pronunciations. That was not the case with this narration.
Secondly- the book does a phenomenal job of sketching the time frame in Russian history which Stalin was a part of and the book went into great details about Lenin, Trotsky, Stolypin, Tsar Nicholas II, Kerensky as well as the other Russian historical figures of the period. While this was great for me in that it added greatly to my understanding of Stalin, for the first time reader of a Stalin biography, this can detract from his/her enjoyment of the book because not enough time is spent on Stalin's life. Therefore, if you have never read or listened to a biography of Stalin, I would not listen to this book as the first book on the subject. Instead consider first listening to the Stalin biographies written by Simon Sebag Montfiore (only covers Young Stalin), Robert Conqeust and/or Edward Radzinsky (all three books are available from Audible) and then consider listening to this one. I believe that by following this course of action, the listener will enjoy this book more and learn more about Stalin from it.
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108 people found this helpful
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- Ken Kleinman
- 02-07-15
Well-written, comprehensive, incompetently read
This is probably a very great book. However, it is hard to tell from the audiobook, because the narration is just terrible. The speaker reads very, very slowly. I have been a monthly subscriber to Audible for 10 years, and for the first time, I increased the speed to 1.25. Then I increased it again to 1.5. At this speed, it is about normal. In addition, there are many, many sentences where the speaker has failed to place the emphasis correctly in the sentence, making it very difficult to follow the structure. This tends to happen quite often when the speaker encounters a new and complicated Russian last name, which of course happens frequently.
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26 people found this helpful
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- Jay
- 01-13-15
Stalin's story merged with Russian history
If you could sum up Stalin, Volume I in three words, what would they be?
Incredibly detailed account
Any additional comments?
I cannot recommend Stalin, Vol 1 highly enough. This book often feels more like a history of revolutionary Russia than an account of Stalins life, which is great if you are more interested in public policy vs. an individuals biographic info. The book really heats up when discussing the in-fighting between Stalin and a few of his comrades, such as Trotsky and Kamenev. Ultimately, Vol. 1 is about the fascinating way in which Stalin slowly accrued power over the course of the 20's. My only regret is that Vol. 2 isn't available yet.
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- Jim
- 06-22-18
The Prof Unburdens Himself of All He Knows
So there you are, sitting down to hear a biography of Stalin . . . for 39 hours. Listen to an hour every day and it will take you a month and a week to finish it. A half hour every day takes 2 ½ months. What is gained by this marathon? You learn short-term political ploys that didn’t work, month-by-month strategies of Bolsheviks working for influence, variations of communist philosophy among key figures, goings-on during committee meetings in Russia, goings-on in committee meetings in Central Asia, ups and downs of Soviet manufacturing, ups and downs of military strategies by Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, and also by White Russian armies . . . an expanse of details that buries everything. There are long periods when Stalin drops out of the narrative completely. The word “abridgement” hovers over this book like an angel with a hatchet, as the poor misshapen thing cries, “Chop me! Chop me!” To be fair to the prof, the book isn’t pretentious—it’s overblown. Volume 1 only goes to the year 1928. Professor Kotkin of Princeton has already penned Volume 2 running another 50 hours. Oh boy, what fun that would be. Is this volume worth listening to? In my opinion, no. It isn’t that the prof hasn’t worthwhile things to say—they are buried in the clutter and when they appear the books gets back on track. There are too many good Stalin bios out there that take a couple weeks to get through. Not unless you are a genuine Russophile focusing on the Revolution, and by that I mean another professor like the author, would I go for this one. I’m an amateur reader of Soviet history and I thought the whole thing quite overdone, for what my opinion is worth. Large sections could have been synopsized with no harm. In fact they should have been. You’ve been warned. Buy the book and get ready to start skipping chapters.
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- hawkowl
- 07-06-21
Exhaustively Detailed
Really this is more of an incredibly detailed account of the beginning of the Soviet Communist Party than simply a biography of Stalin. Too much detail makes for a poor, some what meandering story. Needs better editing to highlight the themes that the author postulates at the end if the book.
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- Dani
- 05-31-20
If you fancy having the Soviet archives read aloud...
The only reason I have listened to so much of this is that the narrator is so pleasant. It’s like lovely soothing music.
This is not a biography of Stalin. It is a regurgitation off every minor fact even tangentially related to him, his parents, the Russian revolution, etc. I’m 19 hours in, and I feel like I’m still in the preamble. There’s been very little analysis of Stalin himself, just a brain dump of every minute detail of what was going on in Russia during his life. I appreciate context, but it’s ridiculous.
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 11-06-15
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Stephen Kotkin offers a remarkable and comprehensive view of the 1917 Russian Revolution in “Stalin, Volume I”. In historical context, Kotkin profiles the three most important characters of the revolution; e.g. Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky. “Stalin, Volume I” documents the personalities and circumstances of the pre-U.S.S.R.’ economy; i.e. an economy based on the disparity between wealth and poverty, federalization and centralization, political idealism and pragmatism.
Though Stalin wields great enforcement powers, Kotkin infers Trotsky is the intellectual successor to Lenin. Stalin and Trotsky are shown to be at odds on the fundamental direction of the Bolshevik party, the successor party of Russian communism. However, the exigency of getting things done, as opposed to understanding Leninist/Marxist communism, were paramount for consolidating power. Kotkin explains how Stalin became a defender of Leninist doctrine while Trotsky became an antagonist and eventual apostate. Trotsky’s arrogance and Stalin’s manipulation of events doomed Trotsky’s rise to power.
There is much more in Kotkin’s powerful first volume exploration of Stalin and the Russian revolution. Germany’s role in the revolution is a case in point. The writing is crisp and informative. The narration is excellent. After listening to “…Volume I”, one looks forward to Kotkin’s next.
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- Timothy
- 08-24-17
A fresh and different look at Stalin
Would you consider the audio edition of Stalin, Volume I to be better than the print version?
No. Unfortunately the audio version seems to omit any parenthetical statements in the text and these are valuable. If you're using Immersion Reading this is noticeable.
What three words best describe Paul Hecht’s voice?
Nice pacing and inflection. I rated the performance one star because unfortunately the audio version seems to omit any parenthetical statements in the text and these are valuable. If you're using Immersion Reading this is noticeable.
Any additional comments?
I believe what makes this volume special is how it shows Stalin's connection to the historical context of Russia and Europe -especially in regards to Germany - and does so without becoming meaningless Freudian psycho-history. The author also makes excellent use of primary source quotes that will be very helpful for teachers. Here is a passage that I think demonstrates these points:
"But Kamenev went far beyond separating Stalin from Bukharin. We are against creating a “leader” theory, we’re against building up a “leader.” We are against the idea that the secretariat, by combining both policy and organization in practice, should stand above the main political organ, that is, the politburo. . . . Personally, I suggest that our general secretary is not someone who is capable of unifying the old Bolshevik headquarters around himself. . . . Precisely because I have spoken on numerous occasions with Comrade Stalin, precisely because I have spoken on numerous occasions with a group of Lenin’s comrades, I say here at the Congress: I have come to the conclusion that Comrade Stalin cannot perform the function of unifying the Bolshevik headquarters. Kamenev, as he uttered these remarkable words, was interrupted repeatedly, and the jeering became nearly deafening: “Untrue!” “Nonsense.” “So that’s what they’re up to.” “Stalin! Stalin!” The delegates rise and salute Comrade Stalin. Stormy applause. . . . “Long live Comrade Stalin.” Prolonged stormy applause. Shouts of “Hurrah.” General commotion. The published stenogram continued: “Yevdokimov, from his seat: ‘Long live the Russian Communist Party! Hurrah! Hurrah!’ (The delegates stand and shout ‘Hurrah!’ Noise. Stormy, long-sustained applause) (Yevdokimov, from his seat) ‘Long live the central committee of our party! Hurrah!’ (The delegates shout ‘Hurrah!’) ‘The party above all! Right!’ (Applause and shouts, ‘Hurrah!’)”332 Stalin never had a birthday like this (nor would he again)."
This three volume biography will be a great compliment to Anne Applebaum's works on Stalinism - Gulag, Red Famine, and Iron Curtain
Highly recommended
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- J R Plummer
- 11-14-15
Thorough, detailed but dry.
I learned so much about Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky, the lead up to and the revolution, but it was presented more dryly than I would have liked. I was riveted by the details but not the presentation. The performance was excellent.
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- T. McGuire
- 09-10-21
Tries to be 5 books all at once
I really wanted to like this based on listening to Kotkin on podcasts and was really interested in learning about this monster and what his story is. I was really disappointed that as other reviewers mentioned that there are long periods of time where Stalin disappears from his biography, he's just not mentioned - he goes off on these tangents to give you context but that's when the book tries to be many books in one. Where was the editor? I love historical biographies but it was like listening to a textbook based on the content and the monotone narrator better title would've been A History of Russia from 1878-1928. I'm going to try another biography of Stalin not going to finish this one. Sorry, I wished I had a better report.
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