Hitler and Stalin by Alan Bullock- Group Read discussion

I'm Bettie *waves* Thanks for getting this together BirdBrian

Hi, I am Veeral. I think this is a very good idea, Brian. I like non-fiction too but somehow I keep stalling reading some mammoth books like these. This would provide a good inspiration to read tomes like these.

I think you should consider creating a non-fiction reading group as well if you receive a positive response (which should really happen) with this book.

Thanks for the invitation for this buddy-read, it promises to be quite interesting.

Hi Everyone. I am Wanda. Miss Bettie invited me to participate in this group read. I am excited to be able to read this book with everyone. Honestly, considering the reputations of these two guys, this is a book which I would not read on my own (subject matter too scary); however, having others to "hold hands" with, I will conquer my fear. Thank you.

Hi all,

I'm Chris. Got an invite from Bettie. Sounds like a good idea.

Hi everyone. I read about half of this book before, and for some reason I stalled and never followed through with it. At the time I was a history major and devoted to conquering all the big-uns: This book, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire, etc:, and I think me switching majors may have contributed to my stumbling on the book (not that having to read this book made me switch majors!:)). That was years ago, and this book is still leering at me from my shelf, so it's kinda cool that I found a group where I can give it another try and stay motivated.

Bird Brian wrote: "Welcome Kyle- your previous experience, and your historical experise is warmly welcomed! Group read starts in almost exactly 1 month, so plenty of time to find it at your local library or bookstore!"

Thanks Bird Brian. I've committed to doing a lot of group reads of monster books this year, but this will be my first time trying it with a non-fiction book, which should be interesting.

Hello, I may not be able to join in the Reading Schedule, because it is too soon and I have enough reading planned until May or so.

I was drawn to this by Moonbutterfly. Thank you Moon.

I would like to follow your discussions nonetheless, since I eventually will get to this book.

Kalliope wrote: "Hello, I may not be able to join in the Reading Schedule, because it is too soon and I have enough reading planned until May or so.

I was drawn to this by Moonbutterfly. Thank you Moon.

I would ..."


Nice to see you here, Kalliope!

Kyle wrote: "Kalliope wrote: "Hello, I may not be able to join in the Reading Schedule, because it is too soon and I have enough reading planned until May or so.

I was drawn to this by Moonbutterfly. Thank yo..."

Hello Kyle,

Yes, but I am afraid I will be mostly in hiding...

Kalliope wrote: "Yes, but I am afraid I will be mostly in hiding... "

Lurkers are appreciated too. :)

Hi there
I bought this book in the late nineties but have never tackled it all the way through. Hitler & Stalin have always fascinated me - in a century marked by leaps in technology, democracy and human rights these gentlemen oversaw the most glaring examples of technologically driven human obliteration. I think the questions of why and how, both on a personal level as well as in terms of how they retained power and engaged support are some of the most important historical questions of our time. Indeed they still inspire much debate.
I've always loved history of any period, but particularly modern. This book offers a great perspective. Alan Bullock was a great scholar and comparing these two tyrants is a valuable exercise. I hope that understanding more about their backgrounds might reveal some aspects of their personalities and personal lives that motivated their careers. I think there were many similarities between them. An important question also is why Stalin was more 'successful' in the sense of retaining power and avoiding self destruction.
I look forward to debating these points as we proceed. I'm going to be a little late starting - finishing another book in the meantime.

I love your rules and your free approach, Brian! Thanks so much for the invite, much appreciated. I might not be able to keep to the timeline if other pressures mount, so nice to hear you won't be too strict a taskmaster.

Hi everyone, Trav/Jen here. I like history in general, but find this specific two dictators and their rise to power especially fascinating, so let's hope I won't find the tome too daunting.

Bird Brian wrote: "I'm sorry to do this to you all, but with the recent Amazon takeover, I've decided to delete my account. Not right away, but sometime in the next few weeks. When I do that, all my comments and grou..."

Where are you moving? LibraryThing?

Oh no! :( BB, you will be VERY sorely missed! I do hope we'll see you popping up elsewhere though... but after all the fun we've all had, like with that tournament thing (all those will be gone then) that Manny organized and everything and all your wonderful, wonderful reviews... It's an inestimable loss..

Bird Brian wrote: "I'm sorry to do this to you all, but with the recent Amazon takeover, I've decided to delete my account. Not right away, but sometime in the next few weeks. When I do that, all my comments and grou..."

NOOOO!!!! /cry /sob ... /wrists

I'll be very sorry to see you go, Brian. Even though I respect your decision, for my own selfish reasons I hope you'll reconsider. :)

Bird Brian wrote: "Thank you all- I will probably come back and reestablish my account, just to post some Hardcore Truth reviews, but won't be very active here. You can friend me as BirdBrian over at LibraryThing, an..."

BB, can you please post the link to your profile in LT

Bird Brian wrote: "I'm sorry to do this to you all, but with the recent Amazon takeover, I've decided to delete my account. Not right away, but sometime in the next few weeks. When I do that, all my comments and grou..."

I totally respect and understand your decision, Brian. I followed the link that you have posted and yes, I totally agree, We are not data.

But I have to agree with Kyle here. I hope you would reconsider your decision.

I have always enjoyed your reviews, especially the ones in non-fiction category. It makes me sad to think that there won't be new reviews anymore.

"Bird Brian wrote: Thank you Veeral- my plan is to have my complete selection of reviews reposted wherever I go next. At the LibraryThing link above, you will already see over 100 of my reviews tranferred."

I already created an account there a few days back, so I think it would be for the best if I started spending some more time there as I am sure lots of top reviewers like you are shifting to LT. So stalkers like me would have to scoot over there too.

Ah, so all is not lost, at least then. :) Still I must say that I find LT much more clunky and hard work to navigate and to add books to, not to mention a few other awkward aspects of the layout; but maybe the little obstacles to making it as user-friendly as this site is, is a blessing in disguise. :(