Customer Reviews
Useful but curiously dull - By: Historian, 24 Oct 2008 
This is a very useful survey of Stalin's life & political career. It uses some of the new archival sourcesin Moscow, though not all of them by a long way, & it is easily accessible. But the prose is rather dull, & Stalin does not come to life, as he does, for example,in Sebag Montefiore's works. I also found the analysis disappointing. This is not a book that places Stalinin the context of his times, or makes his rise to power, his terror & his cult, understandable. For that it is better to go to Montefiore & to Figes's The Whisperers. But there are some useful details here.
Excellent book - By: P. Gallagher, 08 Mar 2008 
This is a really good book. While Stalin may be a character who it's hard to empathise with, Service approaches the topic with complete objectiity, leaving the reader to make up their own minds on the facts. The book is divided into nearly 50 chapters of ten to twelve pages each, which makes it easier to digest each separate issue & event the author addresses. Overall, great book for anyone keen on knowing more about Stalin.
Too close for comfort - By: Queenie´s Oven, 12 Jul 2007 This is well worth a read, although at times you may need to take a break from it as , by the very nature of its subject, it can be depressing. You really sense that Service has got into the mind of Stalin, but rather than sensationalising his material, he presents his research with a cool, detatched approach. By the end you have some undertanding of the system, ideology & paranoia that allowed Stalin to pursue his enemies, although Service never for one moment excuses Stalin, & his huge culpability for the crimes of his regime. Apart from the appaling catalogue of evils to his name, there are also numerous jaw-dropping moments at Stalin's rank incompetence. A terrible warning for us all.
An excellent biography of a man who shaped history - By: HBH, 09 May 2007 
Stalin by Robert Service is a very readable account of the life of the infamous dictator. It is certainly the best biography of Stalin I have read because it puts the manin conttext & does not try to put across an overtly political message. Serious students of Stalin may want something with a bit more detail but this isin my opinion the definative biography of Stalin which is accessible to all.
A superb account - By: Mr. S. Ghosh, 27 Dec 2005 Without much debate, one of the best works on Stalin. What is worthwhile mentioning here is: Unlike many American & European historians, biographers & political analysts who have had written, edited or commented on Stalin & his rise to powerin the CC of the USSR quite acrimoniously & dubiously over the years, this book is quite different. Instead, Service does an EXCELLENT job of:
1. Taking into accounts as they were & not mentioning what he thinks on them. Rather criticising Stalin & his every political move, we get a clear account of his real motives, his way of thinking, pressures he handled, the question of being eitherin power or out of it.
2. His fights with Trotsky, later with Kamenev & Zinoviev & then finally with Bukharin are mentioned & exemplifiedin great finesse. What one ought to note is that contrary to what most historians (over the decades) have seen Stalin as: short-tempered & haughty, he was a man of great discipline, far-sighted & highly motivated political analyst.
His childhood, rise to power, dekulakisation, rapid industrialisation & collectivisation of farms & other facets of Soviet regime are very nicely introduced, mentioned & illustrated. Moreover what makes the reading even better is: opposite views from Lenin, Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin & others are mentioned & contrasted. 5 stars overall!
Subhasish Ghosh
26th Dec 2005
St. Cross College,
University of Oxford
