Stalin - The History and critique of a black legend

Almost no other figure in history has been as widely condemned as Joseph Stalin, so much so that even those who would claim very little knowledge of history or politics know that Stalin was one of history’s greatest monsters. But was he?

In one of the most important books on Stalin published in the West, Domenico Losurdo systematically dismantles the mainstream narratives around the Stalin Era in the USSR, and does it with a brilliant comparative method that demystifies a time period usually buried beneath powerful ideology. Diving deep into a broad and deep historical terrain, Losurdo does not shy away from what real violence did occur, but places it in a context which makes clear the extraordinary geopolitical situation of the first half of the 20th century. Losurdo is one of the best and most meticulous critical historians of recent memory, and this book is necessary reading.

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