Stalin and His Hangmen: The Tyrant and Those Who Killed for Him, (Paperback)

from EricCostello

Solid account of the way Joseph Stalin consolidated, and then abused, his power in the USSR of the twenties, thirties, forties and fifties. If you've read "Let History Judge" or "The Gulag Archipelago," much of this is not new; the big advantage this book has is that during the brief period when ...

from mareki

An impressive grasp of narrative skillfully handled stops the continuity that runs through the various manifestations of the Cheka/KGB, up to the present day Russian security services & Putin, from becoming monotonous. The author has a literary background & there is some fascinating stuff on writ...

from john257hopper

Despite my familiarity with reading about the horrors of Stalin's rule, I found this a more than usually deeply depressing read, though interesting in shedding light on the background of some of the less well known horrible personalities in the history of Cheka-OGPU-NKVD. Perhaps the most shockin...

from vanjr

I have had a pre-occupation with evil rulers of the 20th century. My opinions may change but I am pretty convinced Stalin "wins" as greatest evil leader of that time period. Definitely worse than Mao, probably worse even than Hitler. This book tells part of the story.