Stalin: The Glasnost Revelations [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Laqueur, Walter

Published by Chars Scribner's Sons, New York, 1990

About this Item

Fine unread condition gray boards, black spine, and red spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped illustrated dust jacket. Includes List of Other Books by Walter Laqueur; Preliminary Page Quote; Acknowledgments; Introduction; New Light on the Moscow Trials; Bibliographic Note; Notes; Index and About the Author. "Stalin was in many respects a most unlikely leader of a great nation. Physically unattractive, devoid of warmth and spontaneous enthusiasm, not a good speaker and not a great thinker, Stalin failed to project any charisma at all, nor did he give the impression of being a great villain. Nevertheless, he left his mark on Soviet and world history like no other figure in this century.Much has been written during the last five decades about Stalin's life and also about his political heritage. Most of this literature emanted from the West, and it presented a variety of viewpoints. Some authors admired Stalin, others loathed him, yet others tried to take an objective, detached view. The studies of Stalinism also diverged widely in their conclusions. They were written before the revelations of glasnost shed new light on almost every aspect of Soviet life" - from the Introduction and inner front jacket flap. "This is a remarkable reconsideration of Josef Stalin, the demonic dictator who ruled over the Soviet Union for the better part of three decades. Until his death in 1953, the Russians had it drummed into them that they owed everything to "the wise and strong boss (khoziain) who was omniscient and never mistaken," and that without his leadership they would have been lost, "easy prey to the capitalist wolves." Yet less than three years after Stalin's death, Khrushchev spoke for the first time of "Stalin's crimes"; at the Twenty-second Party Congress in 1961, there were further revelations. But it was not until the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev and the advent of glasnost that a broad and sweeping de-Stalinization came into the open, out from under the yoke of harrowing repression. Now, in the light of these "glasnost revelations," Walter Laqueur, the brilliant European historian, reviews the new body of evidence around the towering figure of the Soviet leader: his rise to power, his ruthless collectivization of agriculture; the period of the purges and show trials; his role in the war. Laqueur writes cogently about the "cult of Stalin" and neo-Stalinism, and about the "ghost of Stalin" that still haunts modern-day Russia. Based on material never before available, Stalin: The Glasnost Revelations paints a startling and bold portrait of the man who sent 24,000,000 people to their death. Of extraordinary interest and importance, this is a book that must be read by all of us." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. Seller Inventory # 008530

Bibliographic Details

Title: Stalin: The Glasnost Revelations [FIRST ...

Publisher: Chars Scribner's Sons, New York

Publication Date: 1990

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Bass, Wendy (jacket desgn)

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Edition: 1st Edition