Stalin: Russia’s Man of Steel

Product Description

When Joseph Djugashvili was born the son of a poor shoemaker, few suspected he would rise to become one of the twentieth century’s most ruthless and powerful dictators. Enamored as a young man with the revolutionary politics of Lenin, he joined the underground Marxist Party and began his pursuit of power by leading strikes and demonstrations. Six times he was exiled to Siberia for his illicit activities, escaping many times despite below-freezing temperatures and, on one occasion, an attack by a pack of wolves.

His instinctive ability to command authority and divide the opposition through lies and deceit set him on a path he would follow to become Russia’s most absolute dictator. He was never reticent to shed innocent blood in the pursuit of his own ends, and he carefully orchestrated demonstrations that brought about massacres that he then used to his own revolutionary ends. His vision was far reaching, and while his initial purpose was to establish a Soviet socialist state, his larger goal was world domination.

Ultimately responsible for the deaths of more than 30 million, Stalin’s life is a sober account of the reign of terror suffered by countless millions at the hands of one man.

About the Author

Dr. Albert Marrin is a master at weaving personal perspective and historical material smoothly to give readers an interesting and reliable account of the subject. He has written more than two dozen award-winning nonfiction books for young people which have been called “addictive reading” by The Horn Book. This is a wonderful clue to the type of author Marrin is. Three of his books, including Hitler and Stalin: Russia’s Man of Steel, were School Library Journal Best Books of the Year.

Other Great Titles by Albert Marrin include

• Hitler
• Victory in the Pacific
• The Yanks Are Coming