The Last Days of Stalin

By: Joshua Rubenstein

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

A scholarly, absorbing narrative of Stalin's last days and the turbulent wake of his dictatorship.

Joshua Rubenstein's riveting account takes us back to the second half of 1952, when no one could foresee an end to Joseph Stalin's murderous regime. He was poised to challenge the newly elected US president, Dwight Eisenhower, with armed force and was also broadening a vicious campaign against Soviet Jews. Stalin's sudden collapse and death in March 1953 was as dramatic and mysterious as his life. It is no overstatement to say that his passing marked a major turning point in the 20th century.

The Last Days of Stalin is an engaging, briskly told account of the dictator's final active months, the vigil at his deathbed, and the unfolding of Soviet and international events in the months after his death. Rubenstein throws fresh light on the devious plotting of Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, and other "comrades-in-arms" who well understood the significance of the dictator's impending death; the witness-documented events of his death as compared to official published versions; Stalin's rumored plans to forcibly exile Soviet Jews; the responses of Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles to the Kremlin's conciliatory gestures after Stalin's death; and the momentous repercussions when Stalin's regime of terror was cut short.

©2016 Joshua Rubenstein (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Extremely interesting

If you could sum up The Last Days of Stalin in three words, what would they be?

Very interesting and easy to listen to. I love it.

What did you like best about this story?

Additional information; research is obviously well done.

Have you listened to any of Arthur Morey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did not expect to.

Any additional comments?

I will look for more recordings by Morey and books by Rubenstein.

An excellent overview of the final days of Stalin.

If you could sum up The Last Days of Stalin in three words, what would they be?

Detailed, excellent, well.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Everyone, even Stalin himself.

What didn’t you like about Arthur Morey’s performance?

It only seems to be narration, no accents, nothing that interested me.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

A must-have for fans of the USSR's history.

Very informative book

Very informative book I doubt if I could’ve ever achieved we enter the cold war with Soviet leaders they were still stuck in Marxist ones ideology

A superb history

Fascinating study if a short period in history when there was a thaw in US Soviet relations, with superb analysis and wonderfully read

Solid meh

The opening was great. I didn’t understand how the rest of the book was organized. It jumped all over the place time wise.

Great Listen

This is a well written history about a time when the course of the Cold War could have been much different.

Very interesting insight into Stalin's leadership

The book taught me quite a few things about the latter days of Stalin's dictatorship. It was a very worthwhile listen!

The only downside was that the narrative lost pace and direction at times, seeming to resort to a mere recitation of events.

What happened after Stalin died?

What did you love best about The Last Days of Stalin?

It was efficiently well-written and well read.

Would you recommend The Last Days of Stalin to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes if they have some knowledge about Stalin's importance.

Have you listened to any of Arthur Morey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. He is a good narrator.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's not the kind of book that moves you. Most of the people are Soviet thugs.

disappointing, factual, slow

Too much repetition. Really moved slowly even for a historical narrative. Was kind of disappointed.

Good quick summary

Summarizes nicely the year before and after Stalin’s death
Gives reaction amongst politburo members in USSR, Eastern European communists satellites, Washington, London and Paris. I enjoyed how it quoted NYT, Times of London, Pravda, Tass etc to capture contemporary reaction at the time
Stalin’s monstrous crimes including pending anti semitic pogrom inspired by doctor’s plot was not new to me but Eastern European leaders taking their cue from Kremlin was
John Foster Dulles outsize role in Eisenhower administration (contrast with Acheson) a central theme of Washington’s decision making