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The Stalin Affair: The Impossible Alliance that Won the War
By Giles Milton. 2024
'Page-turning . . . a sizzling high-stakes tale' JAMES HOLLAND'This book might read like the screenplay of a gripping movie,…
yet every word is accurate and verified' ANDREW ROBERTS 'Giles Milton is a phenomenon' DAN SNOW'Another rollercoaster ride from Giles Milton. Endlessly surprising' ANTHONY HOROWITZFrom internationally bestselling historian Giles Milton comes the remarkable true story of the Allies' secret mission to wartime Moscow. In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin's forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies' liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilized an elite team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war. Into to the heart of Stalin's Moscow Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth richest man in America and his brilliant young daughter Kathy. Churchill dispatched the reckless but brilliant bon vivant Archie Clark Kerr - and occasionally himself - to negotiate with the Kremlin's wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with the ingenious, mercurial Stalin to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying masterplan for the post-war world. Based on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.The Stalin Affair: The Impossible Alliance that Won the War
By Giles Milton. 2024
'Page-turning . . . a sizzling high-stakes tale' JAMES HOLLAND'This book might read like the screenplay of a gripping movie,…
yet every word is accurate and verified' ANDREW ROBERTS 'Giles Milton is a phenomenon' DAN SNOW'Another rollercoaster ride from Giles Milton. Endlessly surprising' ANTHONY HOROWITZFrom internationally bestselling historian Giles Milton comes the remarkable true story of the Allies' secret mission to wartime Moscow. In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin's forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies' liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilized an elite team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war. Into to the heart of Stalin's Moscow Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth richest man in America and his brilliant young daughter Kathy. Churchill dispatched the reckless but brilliant bon vivant Archie Clark Kerr - and occasionally himself - to negotiate with the Kremlin's wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with the ingenious, mercurial Stalin to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying masterplan for the post-war world. Based on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
By Anika Orrock. 2020
This book chronicles the history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the stories of the first women to…
play professional baseball in a league of their own.In 1941, the world was at war, and with able-bodied American men fighting overseas, professional baseball was in danger of becoming a quaint relic—until women stepped up to the plate.In this heartwarming illustrated history, the League's story is told by the ones who know it best: the players. Author Anika Orrock collects a variety of funny, charming, wince-worthy, and powerful vignettes told by the players themselves about their time playing the American pastime.• Features stories of grit and perseverance against all odds, told by the players themselves• Filled with player statistics, historical beats, headlines, and more; and fully illustrated in Anika's vibrant style• A visually engaging, readable women-led history bookWritten in an approachable manner and beautifully illustrated, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League is a one-of-a-kind story told through the women's own voices and their own perspectives.This book ultimately proves that the incredible women of the AAGPBL truly were in a league of their own.• A unique celebration of a specific moment in women's and sports history• A great read for experienced and new sports fans alike, readers young and old, baseball fans• Perfect accompaniment to books like Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky, Strong is the New Pretty by Kate T. Parker, and Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future! by Kate SchatzAgent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy
By Damien Lewis. 2022
The New Yorker, Best Books of 2022 Vanity Fair, Best Books of 2022 Booklist, Best Books of 2022 Singer. Actress.…
Beauty. Spy. During WWII, Josephine Baker, the world's richest and most glamorous entertainer, was an Allied spy in Occupied France. Prior to World War II, Josephine Baker was a music-hall diva renowned for her singing and dancing, her beauty and sexuality; she was the highest-paid female performer in Europe. When the Nazis seized her adopted city, Paris, she was banned from the stage, along with all &“negroes and Jews.&” Yet instead of returning to America, she vowed to stay and to fight the Nazi evil. Overnight, she went from performer to Resistance spy. In Agent Josephine, bestselling author Damien Lewis uncovers this little-known history of the famous singer&’s life. During the war years, as a member of the French Nurse paratroopers—a cover for her spying work—Baker participated in numerous clandestine activities and emerged as a formidable spy. In turn, she was a hero of the three countries in whose name she served—the US, France, and Britain. Drawing on a plethora of new historical material and rigorous research, including previously undisclosed letters and journals, Lewis upends the conventional story of Josephine Baker, explaining why she fully deserves her unique place in the French Panthéon.Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle And The Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor
By James M. Scott. 2015
Finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in History "Like Lauren Hillebrand's Unbroken…Target Tokyo brings to life an indelible era." —Ben…
Cosgrove, The Daily Beast On April 18, 1942, sixteen U.S. Army bombers under the command of daredevil pilot Jimmy Doolittle lifted off from the deck of the USS Hornet on a one-way mission to pummel Japan’s factories, refineries, and dockyards in retaliation for their attack on Pearl Harbor. The raid buoyed America’s morale, and prompted an ill-fated Japanese attempt to seize Midway that turned the tide of the war. But it came at a horrific cost: an estimated 250,000 Chinese died in retaliation by the Japanese. Deeply researched and brilliantly written, Target Tokyo has been hailed as the definitive account of one of America’s most daring military operations.Rampage: Macarthur, Yamashita, And The Battle Of Manila
By James M. Scott. 2018
“Illuminating.… An eloquent testament to a doomed city and its people.” —The Wall Street Journal In early 1945, General Douglas MacArthur prepared…
to reclaim Manila, America’s Pearl of the Orient, which had been seized by the Japanese in 1942. Convinced the Japanese would abandon the city, he planned a victory parade down Dewey Boulevard—but the enemy had other plans. The Japanese were determined to fight to the death. The battle to liberate Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese forces that brutalized the civilian population, resulting in a massacre as horrific as the Rape of Nanking. Drawing from war-crimes testimony, after-action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of Pacific War history.Baseball Card Vandals: Over 200 Decent Jokes on Worthless Cards!
By Beau Abbott, Bryan Abbott. 2019
The true story and bizarrely brilliant art of the creative duo Mashable called "the Rembrandt and Picasso of vandalized baseball…
cards." Every day since 2012, brothers Beau and Bryan Abbott have drawn crude jokes on their old trading cards from the '80s and '90s and posted them on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram as Baseball Card Vandals. Now the fruits of this completely unnecessary labor have been collected in this stunningly absurd book. Inside you'll find a collection of over 200 "expertly" vandalized cards—including dozens of never-before-seen artworks—that blend the Vandals' signature oddball humor and artistic flair with a charming dose of sports nostalgia. Featuring an introduction on the Baseball Card Vandals history and process as well as a beautiful design inspired by vintage baseball cards, this book will be a hit with sports fans, art lovers, memorabilia collectors, pop culture watchers, Internet geeks, comedy connoisseurs, and permanent marker sniffers everywhere.But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust
By Barbara Yelin, Gilad Seliktar, Miriam Libicki. 2022
An intimate co-creation of three graphic novelists and four Holocaust survivors, But I Live consists of three illustrated stories based…
on the experiences of each survivor during and after the Holocaust. David Schaffer and his family survived in Romania due to their refusal to obey Nazi collaborators. In the Netherlands, brothers Nico and Rolf Kamp were separated from their parents and hidden by the Dutch resistance in thirteen different places. Through the story of Emmie Arbel, a child survivor of the Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, we see the lifelong trauma inflicted by the Holocaust. To complement these hauntingly beautiful and unforgettable visual stories, But I Live includes historical essays, an illustrated postscript from the artists, and personal words from each of the survivors. As we urgently approach the post-witness era without living survivors of the Holocaust, these illustrated stories act as a physical embodiment of memory and help to create a new archive for future readers. By turning these testimonies into graphic novels, But I Live aims to teach new generations about racism, antisemitism, human rights, and social justice.Fighting the Night: Iwo Jima, World War II, and a Flyer's Life
By Paul Hendrickson. 2024
From the acclaimed and best-selling author of Hemingway&’s Boat, the profoundly moving story of his father&’s wartime service as a…
night fighter pilot, and the prices he and his fellow soldiers paid for their acts of selfless, patriotic sacrificeIn the fall of 1944, Joe Paul Hendrickson, the author&’s father, kissed his twenty-one-year-old wife and two baby children goodbye. The twenty-five-year-old first lieutenant, pilot of a famed P-61 Black Widow, was leaving for the war. He and his night fighter squadron were sent to Iwo Jima, where, for the last five and a half months of World War II, he flew approximately seventy-five missions, largely in pitch-black conditions. His wife would wait out the war at the home of her small-town Ohio parents, one of the countless numbers of American family members shouldering the burden of being left behind.Joe Paul, the son of a Depression-poor Kentucky sharecropper, was fresh out of high school in 1937 when he enlisted in mechanic school in the peacetime Army Air Corps. Eventually, he was able to qualify for flight school. After marriage, and with the war on, the young officer and his bride crisscrossed the country, airfield to airfield, base to base: Santa Ana, Yuma, Kissimmee, Bakersfield, Orlando, La Junta, Fresno. He volunteered for night fighters and the newly arrived and almost mythic Black Widow. A world away, the carnage continued. As Paul Hendrickson tracks his parents&’ journey, together and separate, both stateside and overseas, he creates a vivid portrait of a hard-to-know father whose time in the war, he comes to understand, was something truly heroic, but never without its hidden and unhidden psychic costs.Bringing to life an iconic moment of American history, and the tragedy of all wars, Fighting the Night is an intense and powerful story of violence and love, forgiveness and loss. And it is a tribute to those who got plunged into service, in the best years of their lives, and the sacrifices they and their loved ones made, then and thereafter.The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness
By Andy McCullough. 2024
The definitive biography of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, examining the genesis of his brilliance, his epic quest to win the…
World Series, and his singular place within the evolving baseball landscape—based on exclusive interviews with Kershaw and more than 200 others. More than any baseball player of his generation, Clayton Kershaw has embodied the burden of athletic greatness, the prizes and perils that await those who strive for it all. He is a three-time Cy Young award winner, the first pitcher to win National League MVP since Bob Gibson, and a surefire, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Many of his peers consider him the greatest pitcher to ever climb atop a big-league mound. In an age when baseball became more impersonal, a sport altered by adherence to algorithms and actuarial tables, Kershaw personified the game&’s lingering humanity, with his joy and suffering on display each October as he chased a championship. He pitched through pain, placing his future at risk on the game&’s grandest stages. He endeared himself to teammates and foes alike with his refusal to make excuses, with his willingness to shoulder the blame when he failed. And he only further impressed them when he returned, year after year, even as his body broke down from the strain of his profession. The journey captivated fans in Los Angeles and beyond, so much so that when the Dodgers finally won a title in 2020, the baseball world exulted in his triumph. The Last of His Kind traces Kershaw&’s path from a boyhood fractured by divorce to his development as one of the most-heralded pitching prospects in Texas history to his emergence in Los Angeles as the spiritual heir to Sandy Koufax. But the book also charts Kershaw&’s place in baseball&’s changing landscape, as his own stubbornness butted against the game&’s evolution. The story of baseball in the 21st century can be told through Kershaw&’s career, from his apprenticeship with icons like Joe Torre and Greg Maddux, to his wary relationship with the implementation of analytics, to his victimhood in the 2017 sign-stealing scandal at the hands of the Houston Astros. The game has changed so much during Kershaw&’s illustrious career. To understand how baseball is played today, and how it got that way, you must understand the journey of Clayton Kershaw.Cold crematorium: Reporting from the land of auschwitz
By J©đzsef Debreczeni. 2024
" Cold Crematorium is an indispensable work of literature, and a historical document of unsurpassed importance. It should be required…
reading." —Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything Is Illuminated The first English language edition of a lost memoir by a Holocaust survivor, offering a shocking and deeply moving perspective on life within the camps—with a foreword by Jonathan Freedland. J©đzsef Debreczeni, a prolific Hungarian-language journalist and poet, arrived in Auschwitz in 1944; had he been selected to go "left," his life expectancy would have been approximately forty-five minutes. One of the "lucky" ones, he was sent to the "right," which led to twelve horrifying months of incarceration and slave labor in a series of camps, ending in the "Cold Crematorium"—the so-called hospital of the forced labor camp D©œrnhau, where prisoners too weak to work awaited execution. But as Soviet and Allied troops closed in on the camps, local Nazi commanders—anxious about the possible consequences of outright murder—decided to leave the remaining prisoners to die in droves rather than sending them directly to the gas chambers. Debreczeni recorded his experiences in Cold Crematorium , one of the harshest, most merciless indictments of Nazism ever written. This haunting memoir, rendered in the precise and unsentimental style of an accomplished journalist, is an eyewitness account of incomparable literary quality. The subject matter is intrinsically tragic, yet the author's evocative prose, sometimes using irony, sarcasm, and even acerbic humor, compels the reader to imagine human beings in circumstances impossible to comprehend intellectually. First published in Hungarian in 1950, it was never translated into a world language due to McCarthyism, Cold War hostilities and antisemitism. More than 70 years later, this masterpiece that was nearly lost to time will be available in 15 languages, finally taking its rightful place among the greatest works of Holocaust literature. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's PressGunboat Command: The Biography of Lieutenant Commander Robert Hichens DSO* DSC** RNVR
By Antony Hichens. 2014
This biography draws heavily on the personal diaries of the subject, Robert Hichens (or Hitch as he was universally known).After…
a brief description of his early life, time at Oxford, his motor racing achievements (including trophies at Le Mans in his Aston Martin) and RN training, the book focuses on his exceptional wartime experiences. Hitch was the most highly decorated RNVR officer of the war with two DSOs, three DSCs and three Mentions in Despatches. He was recommended for a posthumous VC. We read of his early days in vulnerable minesweepers and the Dunkirk Dynamo operation, (his first DSC).In late 1940 he joined Coastal Forces serving in the very fast MGBs, soon earning his own command and shortly after command of his Flotilla. He was the first to capture an E-Boat. His successful leadership led to many more successes and his reputation as a fearless and dynamic leader remains a legend today.The book contains detailed and graphic accounts of running battles against the more heavily armed E-boats. Tragically he was killed in action in April 1943, having refused promotion and a job ashore.Junkers Ju87 Stuka (FlightCraft)
By Martin Derry, Neil Robinson. 2017
The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka (a contraction of the German word Sturzkampfflugzeug, ie dive bomber) was arguably the Luftwaffes most…
recognizable airplane, with its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage.Designed by Hermann Pohlmann as a dedicated dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft, the prototype first flew in 1935, and made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. After several design changes in the light of operational experiences, the Stuka went on to serve the Luftwaffe and Axis forces, from the invasion of Poland in 1939, through the Battles of France and Britain in 1940, over the North African desert and the across Mediterranean, the invasion of Russia and the subsequent bitter fighting in that vast area, and following several more design changes and upgrades, continued to serve through to the end of World War Two.This latest addition to the growing Flight Craft range, follows the previous well established format, in that it is split in to three main sections. The first section, after offering a concise design and development history, continues with coverage of the various subtypes, from Anton to Gustav and their operational use from the Spanish Civil War to the end of World War Two.This is followed by a 16-page full color illustration section featuring detailed profiles and 2-views of the color schemes and markings carried by the type in Luftwaffe and Axis service. The final section lists as many of the injection-moulded plastic model kits produced of the Junkers Ju 87 in all the major scales that the authors could find details of, including the brand new Airfix 1/72 and 1/48 scale kits which were released while this book was being written, with photos of many finished models made by some of the worlds best modelers.As with all the other books in the Flight Craft range, whilst published primarily with the scale aircraft modeler in mind, it is hoped that those readers who might perhaps describe themselves as 'occasional' modelers, or even simply aviation enthusiasts, may also find that this colourful and informative work offers something to provoke their interests too.Fire From the Sky: Surviving the Kamikaze Threat
By Robert C. Stem. 2010
By late 1944 the war in the Pacific had turned decisively against the Japanese, and overwhelming Allied forces began to…
close in on the home islands. At this point Japan unveiled a terrifying new tactic: the suicide attack, or Kamikaze, named after the Divine Wind which had once before, in medieval times, saved Japan from invasion. Intentionally crashing bomb-laden aircraft into Allied warships, these piloted guided missiles at first seemed unstoppable, calling into question the naval strategy on which the whole war effort was based.This book looks at the origins of the campaign, at its strategic goals, the organization of the Japanese special attack forces, and the culture that made suicide not just acceptable, but honourable. Inevitably, much mythology has grown up around the subject, and the book attempts to sort the wheat from the chaff. One story that does stand up is the reported massive stock-piling of kamikaze aircraft for use against any Allied invasion of the home islands, if the atomic bombs had not forced Japans surrender.However, its principal focus is on the experience of those in the Allied fleets on the receiving end of this peculiarly alien and unnerving weapon how they learnt to endure and eventually counter a threat whose potential was over-estimated, by both sides. In this respect, it has a very modern resonance.Normandy: Normandy Landing Beaches (Major & Mrs Holt's Pocket Battlefield Guide)
By Tonie Holt, Valmai Holt. 2012
A compact traveler&’s guide to the French region&’s World War II historical sites, featuring planned itineraries of places to see…
and where to go. This guidebook covers the present-day battlefield and the actions that took place on and immediately behind the D-Day beaches, and Major and Mrs. Holt's Pocket Battlefield Guide to Normandy has been put together to take you around the area. This book is part of a new series of guides designed conveniently in a small size for those who have only limited time to visit, or who are simply interested in as an introduction to the historic battlefields, whether on the ground or from an armchair. They contain selections from the Holts&’ more detailed guide of the most popular and accessible sites plus handy tourist information, capturing the essential features of the Battles. The book contains many full color maps and photographs and detailed instructions on what to see and where to visit.Air Raid Shelters of the Second World War: Family Stories of Survival in the Blitz
By Stephen Wade. 2011
This book features the design, creation and use of air raid shelters, including interviews with people who used them during…
the Second World War. The different types of bunkers/air raid shelters (both public and in peoples gardens) are covered and the strength and weakness of their designs discussed, using original designs and primary material. The nostalgia/social history of the book covers peoples experiences of staying in the air raid shelters. These are divided into topics, including getting to the shelters (how they reacted to the sirens or whether they just moved into the shelters, especially those in gardens, long-term), facilities, health issues, morale and safety, both real and perceived. In recent years, air raid shelters have been converted into different uses, including homes, and the book will finish with a brief chapter concerning the future and preservation of these once vital buildings.How Churchill Waged War: The Most Challenging Decisions of the Second World War
By Allen Packwood. 2019
An analytical investigation into Prime Minister Winston Churchill&’s decision-making process during every stage of World War II. When Winston…
Churchill accepted the position of Prime Minister in May 1940, he insisted in also becoming Minister of Defence. This, though, meant that he alone would be responsible for the success or failure of Britain&’s war effort. It also meant that he would be faced with many monumental challenges and utterly crucial decisions upon which the fate of Britain and the free world rested. With the limited resources available to the UK, Churchill had to pinpoint where his country&’s priorities lay. He had to respond to the collapse of France, decide if Britain should adopt a defensive or offensive strategy, choose if Egypt and the war in North Africa should take precedence over Singapore and the UK&’s empire in the East, determine how much support to give the Soviet Union, and how much power to give the United States in controlling the direction of the war. In this insightful investigation into Churchill&’s conduct during the Second World War, Allen Packwood, BA, MPhil (Cantab), FRHistS, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, enables the reader to share the agonies and uncertainties faced by Churchill at each crucial stage of the war. How Churchill responded to each challenge is analyzed in great detail and the conclusions Packwood draws are as uncompromising as those made by Britain&’s wartime leader as he negotiated his country through its darkest days.Blitzkrieg Poland: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)
By Jon Sutherland, Diane Canwell. 2010
"These photographs are taken from three unpublished albums featuring the German invasion of Poland in 1939. One set was taken…
by an SS officer, another by a regular officer and a third by a soldier attached to a medical unit. Included are German units on the move, tanks, artillery and aircraft.There are several shots of recently knocked out Polish vehicles, captured Polish troops and civilians. The shots reflect the rapid pace of the German advance through Poland, some of the cities, towns and villages show signs of heavy fighting, whilst others appear to be untouched. One of the sets show a German unit mounted in fast open cars, heavily armed, speeding through the Polish countryside. Another features armored vehicles and engineers, while another shows the ambulance teams moving up to the front through devastation and chaos.There are also numerous opportunities throughout the book to see uniforms in their various guises and how they were actually worn in practice. There are shots of earlier German armor, antique Polish armor, and photographs of German troops at rest and preparing to move forward again."Hitler's Atrocities Against Allied PoWs: War Crimes of the Third Reich
By Philip D. Chinnery. 2018
“A chilling description of the ordeals that captured men and women were put through by the Third Reich regime and…
their Italian allies.” —Daily MailSeventy years ago, the Nuremberg Trials were in full swing in Germany. In the dock were the leaders of the Nazi regime and most eventually received their just desserts. But what happened to the other war criminals?In June 1946, Lord Russell of Liverpool became Deputy Judge Advocate and legal adviser to the Commander in Chief for the British Army of the Rhine in respect of all trials held by British Military Courts of German war criminals. He later wrote:“At the outbreak of the Second World War, the treatment of prisoners was governed by the Geneva Prisoner of War Convention of 1929, the Preamble of which stated that the aim of the signatories was to alleviate the conditions of prisoners of war.“During the war, however, the provisions of the Convention were repeatedly disregarded by Germany. Prisoners were subjected to brutality and ill-treatment, employed on prohibited and dangerous work, handed over to the SD for ‘special treatment’ in pursuance of Hitler’s Commando Order, lynched in the streets by German civilians, sent to concentration camps, shot on recapture after escaping, and even massacred after they had laid down their arms and surrendered.”Tens of thousands of Allied prisoners of war died at the hands of the Nazis and their Italian allies. This book is for them lest we forget.“A sobering and harrowing book, detailing many forgotten crimes committed against POWs who should have been offered the protection of the Geneva Convention, but tragically were not.” —Recollections of WWIIJoseph Stalin: Images Of War (Images of War)
By David A. Semeraro. 2017
Joseph Stalin was a monster. He sacrificed his friends and allies in pursuit of power, murdered thousands with sadistic brutality…
to maintain it and callously obliterated millions more of his own people over a quarter century of his leadership. Yet almost as frightening as the horrendous crimes he committed is the idolatry that allowed this ogre to flourish. Just like fellow monster of the twentieth century Adolf Hitler, Stalin saw himself as a master of destiny, a role that to him excused the vilest atrocities. And, bafflingly, just like his Nazi counterpart, he was allowed to dominate his nation and overrun others with the enthusiastic support of the majority of the citizens whom he had subjugated. Stalin was lauded as a national savior right up until his death, which was marked by mourning crowds so vast that untold numbers perished in the crush. This unquestioning adulation is not only a mystery to todays historians but a cause for alarm. For, under the Soviet Unions present regime, there are signs that the Stalin cult is being resurrected as the Russian bear again sharpens its claws. This concise book presents a cautionary study, in words and historic photographs, of the peasants son from Georgia who as a choirboy seemed destined for the priesthood but who grew up to be a street-fighting revolutionary using torture and terror as tools to attain power. It asks how the coarse, brutish drunkard that he became could nevertheless have been lauded abroad as a cultural giant and spellbind so many millions at home as an object of worship. It provides clues as to how Stalin the military incompetent came to be seen as a statesman of equal standing to war leaders like Churchill and Hitler (whose lives are covered by companion volumes in the Pen & Sword Images of War series). And it points to the danger of rewriting history to allow the resurrection of Stalin as a father of his people in the twenty-first century rather than a bloodstained idol with feet of clay.Also Available by Nigel Blundell, from the Images of War series, Images of War Winston Churchill and Images of War Adolf Hitler.