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“The character of Stalin’s dictatorship is admirably described and analyzed in Ulam’s impressive book. It provides a richly detailed account of Stalin’s political development, of his purges in the thirties and forties, and of his role in World War II and in the cold war that followed. But it is much more than a biography of Stalin: it is also a history of the Bolshevik party, of the Russian Revolution and of the Soviet regime up to Stalin’s death in 1953... Ulam writes with vigor and with penetrating intelligence... Ulam has written a thoughtful book in a lively and provocative style that holds one’s undivided attention... It is the fullest and most up-to-date biography of Stalin now available, and will make instructive reading for specialist and layman alike.” — The New York Times

“Ulam’s Stalin is the familiar tyrant, but this massive biography explores and analyzes other dimensions... Ulam does not stress psychological interpretations, but his Stalin also emerges as a reflection of the movement and the society which produced him. The author does not dodge the obscure or controversial issues, always injecting his best judgment or educated guess.” — Foreign Affairs

“This is an excellent book. Stalin’s personal development and his leading role are carefully examined through all the complicated years of his political life. Professor Ulam writes eloquently, as always, basing his work upon profound scholarship and keen intuition. A splendid portrait emerges from his pages — terrible and fascinating — of Stalin as one of the truly evil and ‘great’ men of this century.” — The Russian Review

“[An] impressive and monumental life of Stalin... a masterful synthesis... a fascinating biography written with grace, authority, and rare discernment.” — Slavic Review

“[Ulam’s book] is almost a history of Bolshevism, the Russian Revolution, and the Soviet state to the large degree that these affected and were affected by the person of Stalin — a history especially of Stalin’s rise to power, collectivization, the purges, and of the Soviet role in world affairs, which dominates the last third of the book, from about 1938... The book is elegantly, often eloquently written and is well put together. It makes interesting reading for nonspecialists, yet is informative and illuminating for students of Soviet affairs. It is, as the publisher claims, an ‘important’ work.” — Political Science Quarterly

“As a critical biography and as a comprehensive and readable history of Stalin’s rule, this volume is valuable for both the expert and lay reader. It both expresses the atmosphere of this crucial era in Soviet history and provides an interesting explanation for the success and the influence of one of the world’s most skilled and cruel tyrants.” — The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

“In fourteen densely written and tightly organized chapters Ulam has compiled not only a richly detailed account of Stalin’s personal career but also a general history of the Communist Party and the Soviet state during the greater part of their respective existence.” — The History Teacher

“Commendable for its scholarship, objectivity, readability and coherence, Ulam’s book dissects the personality of a man who not only shaped world history but whose spirit still broods over the USSR and its satellites despite all attempts to exorcise it.” — Social Science Quarterly

“Ulam finds Stalin a much more sensitive and astute politician than any of the other old Bolsheviks, a man of ‘uncommonly good sense’ and the beneficiary of a great deal of luck. In no way apologizing for Stalin’s crimes against his fellow man, Ulam nevertheless sees the Soviet political soil as particularly fertile for the weed of Stalinism.” — Studies in Comparative Communism

“[Ulam] has written an old-fashioned — and superb — biography... It is a powerful portrait, artfully conceived and splendidly written.” — The Virginia Quarterly Review

“Not only will [Ulam’s book] be very useful to advanced students, for understanding and for reference, but it will be a source of intellectual pleasure. His survey of Stalin’s whole career is clear without oversimplification and vivid without being pretentious. The allocation of space to each of the main periods, and the balance between narrative, quotation, explanation and comment seem to me just right.” — The Slavonic and East European Review

Stalin: The Man and His Era (Book Two)

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