In this book, the first to draw from recently released archives, Robert Conquest gives us Stalin as a child and student; as a revolutionary and communist theoretician; as a political animal skilled in amassing power and absolutely ruthless in maintaining it. He presents the landmarks of Stalin's rule: the class with Lenin; collectivization; the Great Terror; the Nazi-Soviet pact and the Nazi-Soviet war; the anti-Semitic campaign that preceded his death; and the legacy he left behind.

Distilling a lifetime's study, weaving detail, analysis, and research, Conquest has given us an extraordinarily powerful narrative of this incredible figure.

"Thoughtful and thorough and shot through with insight."--The Washington Post Book World

"Definitive . . . a magnificent, even poetic, act of historical retribution."--The New Leader

"Brilliant . . . this book probably is the most cogent and readable account of Stalin's life yet published."--The San Diego Union