{"product_id":"stalin-a-biography","title":"Stalin : A Biography","description":"Overthrowing the conventional image of Stalin as an uneducated political administrator inexplicably transformed into a pathological killer, Robert Service reveals a more complex and fascinating story behind this notorious twentieth-century figure. Drawing on unexplored archives and personal testimonies gathered from across Russia and Georgia, this is the first full-scale biography of the Soviet dictator in twenty years.Service describes in unprecedented detail the first half of Stalin's life--his childhood in Georgia as the son of a violent, drunkard father and a devoted mother; his education and religious training; and his political activity as a young revolutionary. No mere messenger for Lenin, Stalin was a prominent activist long before the Russian Revolution. Equally compelling is the depiction of Stalin as Soviet leader. Service recasts the image of Stalin as unimpeded despot; his control was not limitless. And his conviction that enemies surrounded him was not entirely unfounded.Stalin was not just a vengeful dictator but also a man fascinated by ideas and a voracious reader of Marxist doctrine and Russian and Georgian literature as well as an internationalist committed to seeing Russia assume a powerful role on the world stage. In examining the multidimensional legacy of Stalin, Service helps explain why later would-be reformers--such as Khrushchev and Gorbachev--found the Stalinist legacy surprisingly hard to dislodge.Rather than diminishing the horrors of Stalinism, this is an account all the more disturbing for presenting a believable human portrait. Service's lifetime engagement with Soviet Russia has resulted in the most comprehensive and compelling portrayal of Stalin to date.","brand":"Thryft Singapore","offers":[{"title":"Like New","offer_id":44545408139545,"sku":"DK268.S8","price":6.06,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":44545408172313,"sku":"DK268.S8","price":4.85,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Good","offer_id":44545408205081,"sku":"DK268.S8","price":4.37,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Well Read","offer_id":44545408237849,"sku":"DK268.S8","price":3.88,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/0598\/4849\/files\/113218.jpg?v=1717735895","url":"https:\/\/thryft.sbs\/products\/stalin-a-biography","provider":"Thryft","version":"1.0","type":"link"}