Books on Stalin etc

[bawbag]

Long time no speak from me and i need help
I am going away and i have got my urge to read on some more left wing theories back (maybe my soul has been saved) and i am hoping to do this while i now have time

So i was hoping that you lot could recommend some books on Stalin or books about his theories, some to get me started, nothing complex please.
If not him then recommend anyone else? I was thinking Lenin or maybe Trotsky, be it on the person or about their theories, again nothing too complex please just something educational to keep me occupied and while i still have this, what seems to be annual, phase of reading that i go through. This is still the subject i wish to read about and i am still very interested. So i thought i would ask for recommendations here first.

Thanks for your help

[scarletghoul]

simon sebag montefiore wrote 2 good biographies on Stalin. Young Stalin deals with Stalin's life up to the revolution, and is really interesting. It doesn't deal with theory much, its just the story of his early life. I liked this book a lot. Monefiore's other book, Court of the Red Tsar is about the rest of Stalin's life. I haven't read this one but it seems cool.
Anyway as i said these are biographical pieces so it wont advance your theoretical communist power much but just good to read and will give you historical knowledge

[Bright Banana Beard]

Stalin Breaker of Nations by Robert Conquest < It have detailed information on the internal conflict with Lenin and other party member. However, I still have not finish it. However, his description on Soviet Union is very terrible at best.

Added: Unfortunately, Robert Conquest was in Information Research Department and deals with Solzhenitsyn most of the time.

[Panda Tse Tung]

Robert Conquest? Might as well give animal farm then, lol. Well reading his works would work if you want his theories:
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/index.htm
And 'another view of Stalin' by Ludo Martens is good, there's a short summary-like book online but it's not the full one.
http://www.plp.org/books/Stalin/book.html

[x359594]

On Stalin, from a post-Stalinist Soviet perspective there's Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy by Dimitri Volgokonov published in the USSR in 1987 and translated into English a few years later. Primarily a biography, it also examines Stalin's policies, his use of Leninism as an ideology and his skill as a politician.

[New Tet]

Isaac Deutscher's Stalin is worth a look, IMHO.

[thundertail19921]

I'm really interested in this too. Are there any good books about Stalin's stance on government?

[MarxSchmarx]

I'm really interested in this too. Are there any good books about Stalin's stance on government?

"Everyday Stalinism"
"Stalin: Man of Steel"

The latter I read in translation but if I remember correctly it delves into how Stalin dealt with the personality cult.

[Random Precision]

For Lenin, I would recommend volumes one and two of Tony Cliff's Lenin, entitled Building the Party and All Power to the Soviets. Also, Paul D'Amato presents an excellent survey of his ideas on the party in Lenin and the Revolutionary Party.

For Trotsky, Isaac Deutscher's classic Prophet biography (in three volumes) is essential. Tony Cliff also wrote a four-volume biography. If you're more interested in his life, I'd go with Deutscher, for his ideas I'd go with Cliff. In fact I would try to read both anyway, since Deutscher waxes romantic way too often and imitates the 19th-century Great Man biography.

For Stalin, you're on your own. I don't know of a single honest appraisal of Stalin that doesn't descend into either anti-communism or "glorious sun of the socialism" type praise, both of which rely too much on the great man theory of history. Deutscher tries to walk the line, but he comes down too much on the side of praise.

[KC]

And 'another view of Stalin' by Ludo Martens is good, there's a short summary-like book online but it's not the full one.
http://www.plp.org/books/Stalin/book.html (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.plp.org/books/Stalin/book.html)

This book is filled with so much dishonesty and distortions I don't know how anyone could take it as any more than some hilarious satire on Stalinists that a whole ton of Stalinists thought was legitimate.


Isaac Deutscher's Stalin is worth a look, IMHO.

This book is good, although in some places Deutscher is mistaken and also in some places Deutcher says some stupid shit.



For Stalin, you're on your own. I don't know of a single honest appraisal of Stalin that doesn't descend into either anti-communism or "glorious sun of the socialism" type praise, both of which rely too much on the great man theory of history. Deutscher tries to walk the line, but he comes down too much on the side of praise.

That's pretty funny, actually; Deutscher himself said in the intro that Trotskyists accuse him of being too praiseful whereas Stalinists say the opposite. Personally I found Deutscher's attempt refreshing, as it is incredibly hard, as you have said, to find anything that comes even near what he accomplished. I'm glad that he stayed away from being super negative about him; I think he painted a pretty balanced picture of Stalin as an unprincipled opportunist, which is exactly what he was.

[Kassad]

simon sebag montefiore wrote 2 good biographies on Stalin. Young Stalin deals with Stalin's life up to the revolution, and is really interesting. It doesn't deal with theory much, its just the story of his early life. I liked this book a lot. Monefiore's other book, Court of the Red Tsar is about the rest of Stalin's life. I haven't read this one but it seems cool.
Anyway as i said these are biographical pieces so it wont advance your theoretical communist power much but just good to read and will give you historical knowledge

Yeah, I'm about 3/4 of the way through Young Stalin and I'm trying to find the other one. Montefiore presents a really good perspective of Stalin; acknowleding his ideological contributions, yet recognizing some of his mistakes. I'm afraid that Court of the Red Tsar might be a little less neutral, but we'll have to see.