Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar - Simon Sebag Montefiore - Hardcover

'Simon Sebag Montefiore has pulled it off. His book succeeds in giving us an intimate picture of daily life in the Kremlin under Stalin. The arrests and killings are not ignored; indeed Montefiore supplies extra chapters and verses on the process by which the Soviet dictator moved against his enemies real and potential. An abundance of the sources are wholly new. The book rests on an extraordinary feat of digging up letters and memoirs from the archives of members of Stalin's entourage and their families. Montefiore has also travelled around Russia to trace many surviving witnesses to the scenes he describes. The result is a gripping account. Stalin was a vengeful conspirator and a murderous leader. But he was also "normal" in many ways. He was convivial, solicitous and even flirtatious. When he wanted, he could be quite a charmer. This duality has long been under-appreciated, but it helps to explain why Stalin was admired as well as feared by his associates - and indeed why his power endured to the end of his life. This is a fundamental theme and it is one of Montefiore's merits that he handles it with excitement and cogency.' Robert Service, PRINCE OF PRINCES: THE LIFE OF POTEMKIN 'Fascinating...this highly ambitious biography has succeeded triumphantly.' Antony Beevor, Sunday Times 'If you want a good racy historical read, Prince of Princes certainly provides it! Book of the Year.' Antonia Fraser, Sunday Telegraph 'The best new book I've read this year and indeed for several years. Impeccably researched, beautifully written, it takes us at an unslackening pace through the colourful life of one of the most legendary Russians - war hero, politician, visionary and lover.Montefiore, Simon Sebag is the author of 'Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar - Simon Sebag Montefiore - Hardcover' with ISBN 9781842127261 and ISBN 1842127268.