The Life and Death of Stalin

by Louis Fischer

With an understanding made possible by the recent unearthing of much hitherto suppressed Stalin material - articles, secret speechesand personal letters going back to the 1920's - and the intimate knowledge acquired during his fourteen years' residence in Soviet Russia, Louis Fischer takes us behind the veil of mystery which covers Stalin's Russia.

Genres: Biography, Russia, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Foreign correspondent and analyst of world affairs.

Fischer worked as an European correspondent first in Berlin later in the Soviet Union. The works he wrote during his stay in the Soviet Union are criticised for its apologism and the denial of the Ukraine famine.

Louis Fischer first visited Gandhi in 1942 and again in 1946.

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're expecting an even-handed biography (reasonable given the title), then you're going to be disappointed. This book, originally published in 1952, is a full-on condemnation of the Soviet tyrant. The author made a great case, not a hard thing to do, and he includes some interviews with Stalin, both his own and others. If you're looking for a relatively short, single-volume introduction into the monster that was Stalin, this isn't a bad place to start.