There have been many biographies of Stalin, but the court that surrounded him is untravelled ground.Simon Sebag-Montefiore, acclaimed biographer of Catherine the Great's lover, prime minister and general, Potemkin, has unearthed the vast underpinning that sustained Stalin. Not only ministers such as Molotov or secret service chiefs such as Beria, but men and women whose loyalty he trusted only until the next purge. Here is the Stalin story from the inside, full of revelations. How the death of Stalin's wife was hushed up - was it suicide?How the Soviet leaders and their families lived and partied inside the Kremlin walls. What happened on the first day of war with Germany in 1941. The fullest account of the meeting between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill that settled the fate of the axis powers.And how the Great Terror in which 10 million died actually happened. Robert Service (St Antony's, Oxford), former head of Russian history at the School of Slavonic Studies, U. of London: '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 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. This is a fundamental theme and it is one of Montefiore's that he handles it with excitement and cogency.'
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The publicity for this has been fantastic and it is still selling like a train, currently no. 6 on THE SUNDAY TIMES & no. 1 on EVENING STANDARD bestseller lists. The following pieces have run: an interview with Simon and his wife Santa in VOGUE (July issue); an article on Stalin's women in the SUNDAY TIMES News Review (29 June); a piece on Stalin's houses in the DAILY TELEGRAPH(8 July); a piece on his research in THE FINANCIAL TIMES (5 July); a book digest in THE DAILY MAIL (8 July) and an article in BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE (August issue). The TV programme, STALIN: THE TERROR, which Simon was the historical consultant on was shown on BBC 2 25 July. The reviews have been amazing: 'This is an extraordinary book..... he has succeeded in bringing alive a group of characters who for too long have seemed too dull to merit much historical investigation, and provided a glimpse of what life was really like behind theKremlin walls.... for anyone fascinated by the nature of evil - and by the effects of absolute power on human relationships - this book will provide new insights on every page.'Anne Applebaum, THE EVENING STANDARD 'Montefiore's new material is important, because it allows for a far more rounded portrait ofStalin....... Montefiore provides rich detail of daily life and family relationships in a world of human values turned inside out.'Antony Beevor, THE SUNDAY TIMES 'his masterful and terrifying account of Stalin.... seldom has the picture been put in finer focus than by Sebag Montefiore. It is partly through his diligent interviews with the children of survivors and his admirable combination of history and gossip that one sees the awful banality, the brutal crudity of the men who carelessly sent so many millions to their senseless deaths'Alistair Horne, THE TIMES 'Grimly brilliant'Andrew Marr, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'This is a thoughtful book of first-class scholarship as well as transfixing narrative of a vast nation walking head-first into a meat-grinder........ anyone reading this book will feel profound gratitude to Montefiore for a fascinating investigative analysis of the pathology behind the greatest and most senseless sustained blood-letting in world history.'Andrew Roberts, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'this grim masterpiece'Antonia Fraser, THE MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Its extraordinary revelation of the evil - the complete amorality - at the heart of the dictator's court will change the way historians approach the great historical questoins about the Stalinist regime.Orlando Figes, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Montefiore's superb book'Tim Abrahams, THE SUNDAY HERALD 'spectacular..... an impressive and compelling work'Philip Mansel, THE SPECTATOR 'Magisterial.... Sebag Montefiore's book is well-written; he evidently has a superb grasp of Russia'Lesley Chamberlain, THE INDEPENDENT 'Thanks to Simon Sebag Montefiore, there is no longer the slightest justification for thinking of Joseph Stalin as anything other than a moster'Roy Hattersley, THE OBSERVER 'Gripping and timely.... This is one of the few recent books on Stalinism that will be read in years to come.'Robert Service, THE GUARDIAN 'A riveting portrait of the man and his ruling circle.'Marc Lambert, THE SCOTSMAN 'An astonishingly good and important book.'Simon Heffer, COUNTRY LIFE 'this magnificent portrait of the dictator'Richard Overy, LIT REVIEW Simon was on THE TODAY PROGRAMME (BBC Radio 4) on 8 July, THE THE ARTS SHOW (BBC Radio Scotland) on 11 July, SUNDAY PROGRAMME (GMTV) on 13 July, THE MORNING SHOW (BBC Radio 5 Live) on 18 July, together with BBC RADIO BRISTOL and BBC RADIO LEICESTER. On Saturday 19 July he was on LOOSE ENDS (BBC Radio 4) on 23 July BBC BREAKFAST NEWS (BBC 1),27 July BREAKFAST WITH FROST (BBC 1) and their were lots of previews for theBBC programme. We had a great launch party on 8 July with numerous diary stories. Simon has done a number of excellent events and sti 作者简介
Simon Sebag-Montefiore was a journalist on the SUNDAY TIMES before he started writing books. He speaks several languages, has travelled widely, and now writes books full time. His first biography, Prince of Princes, the life of Catherine the Great's lover and chief minister Potemkin, was a huge seller in hardback and paperback. 目录
List of Illustrations
Stalin Family Tree
Maps
Introduction and Acknowledgements
List of Characters
PROLOGUE: THE HOLIDAY DINNER: 8 NOVEMBER 1932
PART ONE: THAT WONDERFUL TIME: STALIN AND NADYA 1878-1932
1 The Georgian and the Schoolgirl
2 The Kremlin Family
3 The Charmer
4 Famine and the Country Set: Stalin at the Weekend
5 Holidays and Hell: the Politburo at the Seaside
6 Trains Full of Corpses: Love, Death and Hysteria
7 Stalin the Intellectual
8 The Funeral
9 The Omnipotent Widower and his Loving Family: Sergo the Bolshevik Prince
10 Spoiled Victory: Kirov, the Plot and the Seventeenth Congress
11 Assassination of the Favourite
12 Tm Orphaned': the Connoisseur of Funerals
13 A Secret Friendship: The Rose of Novgorod
14 The Dwarf Rises; Casanova Falls
15 The Tsar Rides the Metro
16 Take Your Partners; Mount Your Prisoners: the Show Trial
17 The Executioner: Beria's Poison and Bukharin's Dosage
18 Sergo: Death of a 'Perfect Bolshevik'
19 The Massacre of Generals, Fall of Yagoda, and Death of a Mother
20 Blood Bath by Numbers
……
| 出版社 | George Weidenfeld & Nicholson |
|---|---|
| 作者 | Sebag Montefiore |