Here are 100 books that Stalin fans have personally recommended if you like
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Why am I passionate about psychopaths? Iâm not, but I am passionate about creating characters with depth that arenât the cardboard cutout tropes that litter science fiction, like used confetti. People are deeper, richer, and far more twisted than most authors imagine or dream. So knowing nothing about psychopaths, I found out. I read the books listed above and visited some nice (slightly amused but paid) psychologists for long chats, with the goal of making one central character in three volumes of my hexalogy as close to real as an imagined person can be. Why? So, Diathesis stands out from the crowd. So the reader can immerse fully in the story.
All I needed was the view from inside a psychopath, and there arenât many reliable ones out there, but hey, guess what, this one isâbecause itâs written by a self-diagnosed psychopath whoâs also a neuroscientist!
I loved this one as the inside view is that extra layer of nuance I needed to build into one of my main charactersâunderstanding how they think and process from their perspective is crucial in making my psychopath real. Bonus here is that the authorâs absolutely honest, describing his behaviours, what he didnât see impacting on those around him,and then adding in how they felt and reacted. Very valuable.
âCompelling, essential reading for understanding the underpinnings of psychopathy.â â M. E. Thomas, author of Confessions of a Sociopath
For his first fifty-eight years, James Fallon was by all appearances a normal guy. A successful neuroscientist and professor, heâd been raised in a loving family, married his high school sweetheart, and had three kids and lots of friends. Then he learned a shocking truth that would not only disrupt his personal and professional life, but would lead him to question the very nature of his own identity.
While researching serial killers, he uncovered a pattern in their brain scans thatâŚ
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to runâŚ
Why am I passionate about psychopaths? Iâm not, but I am passionate about creating characters with depth that arenât the cardboard cutout tropes that litter science fiction, like used confetti. People are deeper, richer, and far more twisted than most authors imagine or dream. So knowing nothing about psychopaths, I found out. I read the books listed above and visited some nice (slightly amused but paid) psychologists for long chats, with the goal of making one central character in three volumes of my hexalogy as close to real as an imagined person can be. Why? So, Diathesis stands out from the crowd. So the reader can immerse fully in the story.
I wanted to build a psychopath character from the ground up (day 1, to be exact), and this book took me right to the brink.
I loved it because itâs less technical than Blair et al. yet digs down into the roots of how a psychopath could develop, what they behave like, andâcritically for meâthe sometimes all too subtle differences between them and the non-psychopaths among us.
Most people are both repelled and intrigued by the images of cold-blooded, conscienceless murderers that increasingly populate our movies, television programs, and newspaper headlines. With their flagrant criminal violation of society's rules, serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy are among the most dramatic examples of the psychopath. Individuals with this personality disorder are fully aware of the consequences of their actions and know the difference between right and wrong, yet they are terrifyingly self-centered, remorseless, and unable to care about the feelings of others. Perhaps most frightening, they often seem completely normal to unsuspecting targets--and they doâŚ
Why am I passionate about psychopaths? Iâm not, but I am passionate about creating characters with depth that arenât the cardboard cutout tropes that litter science fiction, like used confetti. People are deeper, richer, and far more twisted than most authors imagine or dream. So knowing nothing about psychopaths, I found out. I read the books listed above and visited some nice (slightly amused but paid) psychologists for long chats, with the goal of making one central character in three volumes of my hexalogy as close to real as an imagined person can be. Why? So, Diathesis stands out from the crowd. So the reader can immerse fully in the story.
A somewhat technical treatment, itâs critical to disassociate fact from fiction, and this book does exactly that.
I went here first because it lays out what psychopathy is, its prevalence in society, and the many ways, shapes, and forms in which it is expressed. What it gave me was an understanding of what psychopathy looks likeâfrom the outside.
Psychopaths continue to be demonised by the media and estimates suggest that a disturbing percentage of the population has psychopathic tendencies. This timely and controversial new book summarises what we already know about psychopathy and antisocial behavior and puts forward a new case for its cause - with far-reaching implications.
Presents the scientific facts of psychopathy and antisocial behavior.
Addresses key questions, such as: What is psychopathy? Are there psychopaths amongst us? What is wrong with psychopaths? Is psychopathy due to nature or nurture? And can we treat psychopaths?
Reveals the authors' ground-breaking research into whether an underlying abnormality inâŚ
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother hadâŚ
Why am I passionate about psychopaths? Iâm not, but I am passionate about creating characters with depth that arenât the cardboard cutout tropes that litter science fiction, like used confetti. People are deeper, richer, and far more twisted than most authors imagine or dream. So knowing nothing about psychopaths, I found out. I read the books listed above and visited some nice (slightly amused but paid) psychologists for long chats, with the goal of making one central character in three volumes of my hexalogy as close to real as an imagined person can be. Why? So, Diathesis stands out from the crowd. So the reader can immerse fully in the story.
First, let me say that the book is garbage in its entirety. Thereâs nothing in it that I remotely support or accept, and I didnât love it.
But.
It was valuable to me in this exercise to see how far a psychopathâs mind could take them and to see it first hand, to read the words they put down. Not bedtime reading for sure, and not for everyone, but for me, here? Yes.
Step into the historical and ideological world of Adolf Hitler's provocative and controversial memoir, ""Mein Kampf"". This infamous text offers readers a firsthand insight into the mind of one of history's most polarizing figures, exploring his early life, political ambitions, and extremist worldview. Written during his imprisonment in the 1920s, ""Mein Kampf"" chronicles Hitler's formative years, his disenchantment with post-World War I Germany, and the rise of his nationalist and anti-Semitic ideologies. The book presents a chilling blueprint of the ideas that would later shape Nazi policies and World War II.Delving into themes of nationalism, propaganda, and racial theory, HitlerâŚ
In 1992, I graduated high school and although I did not then know how to read or speak Russian, I interviewed six Soviet veterans who happened to live in a nursing home in Rochester NY. I was blown away by their stories; each was missing at least one limb and had a tale to tell about it. The timing was fortuitous in that there was an exhibition at the U.S. Library of Congress that summer on âRevelations from the Russian archives,â which has just opened to researchers. Although it took me some years to master Russian, I resolved then and there to go to the source and research Soviet history in Moscow itself. I am a historian now and I have been working in Moscow archives for nearly a quarter-century now. Stalinâs War is my eighth book to date, all of which draw on this work in the Russian archives.
Sebag Montefiore was the first western historian to really take advantage of the opening of Russian â and Georgian â archival sources on Stalin and his career. Court of the Red Tsar offers a precious glimpse into Stalinâs inner circle and the way the USSR was governed in the 1930s and 1940s. Although gossipy at times, and written in a popular style some professional historians resent, the book is deeply researched and a treasure trove of information which is hard to find elsewhere.
Winner of the British Book Awards History Book of the Year
Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize
This thrilling biography of Stalin and his entourage during the terrifying decades of his supreme power transforms our understanding of Stalin as Soviet dictator, Marxist leader and Russian tsar.
Based on groundbreaking research, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals in captivating detail the fear and betrayal, privilege and debauchery, family life and murderous cruelty of this secret world. Written with extraordinary narrative verve, this magnificent feat of scholarly research has become a classic of modern history writing. Showing how Stalin's triumphs and crimes were theâŚ
I visited Moscow for the first time in 1964. The Cold War was in full swing. I was still at school, learning beginners' Russian. I returned a few years later as a graduate student. By this point I was hopelessly infected with an incurable and progressive disease: curiosity about the Soviet Union under communism. I was full of questions, many of which could not be answered for decades, until communist rule collapsed. Becoming a professional scholar, I spent the next half-century studying the history, economics, and politics of communist societies. The biggest obstacle was always secrecy, so it seems fitting that the system of secrecy is the topic of my most recent book.
This is the other book I kept by my bedside during my three years as head of an academic department.
Every year (until 1937), Stalin took a long working holiday by the Black Sea. His secret line of communication with his subordinates in Moscow relied on daily handwritten letters and couriers. The letters were preserved and are translated and edited in this book. The collection taught me how a suspicious boss micromanages his subordinates and keeps close those he trusts least.
Stalin habitually complained that they overloaded him with trivia, but then complained and corrected them if they showed the smallest initiative. I learned a lot about how Stalin saw his enemies, and I was introduced to the concept of the âunconsciousâ enemy. For myself, I learned that trust is essential to effective delegation.
From 1931 to 1936, Stalin vacationed at his Black Sea residence for two to three months each year. While away from Moscow, he relied on correspondence with his subordinates to receive information, watch over the work of the Politburo and the government, give orders, and express his opinions. This book publishes for the first time translations of 177 handwritten letters and coded telegrams exchanged during this period between Stalin and his most highly trusted deputy, Lazar Kaganovich.
The unique and revealing collection of letters-all previously classified top secret-provides a dramatic account of the mainsprings of Soviet policy while Stalin wasâŚ
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man sheâŚ
I visited Moscow for the first time in 1964. The Cold War was in full swing. I was still at school, learning beginners' Russian. I returned a few years later as a graduate student. By this point I was hopelessly infected with an incurable and progressive disease: curiosity about the Soviet Union under communism. I was full of questions, many of which could not be answered for decades, until communist rule collapsed. Becoming a professional scholar, I spent the next half-century studying the history, economics, and politics of communist societies. The biggest obstacle was always secrecy, so it seems fitting that the system of secrecy is the topic of my most recent book.
Stalinâs secret police was responsible for both foreign espionage and domestic repression. Until recently its domestic operations were a black box. This book unlocks the box.
It shows how and why quotas for executions arose, how the âproductivityâ (arrests and executions in a period of time) of secret police officers could rise and fall by an order of magnitude over a year or so, and why it made sense to detain or kill people in very large numbers âjust in case.â The bookâs patient investigations and logical deductions provide a contrast to the miserable fates of the human victims.
This original analysis of the workings of Soviet state security organs under Lenin and Stalin addresses a series of questions that have long resisted satisfactory answers. Why did political repression affect so many people, most of them ordinary citizens? Why did repression come in waves or cycles? Why were economic and petty crimes regarded as political crimes? What was the reason for relying on extra-judicial tribunals? And what motivated the extreme harshness of punishments, including the widespread use of the death penalty?
Through an approach that synthesizes history and economics, Paul Gregory develops systematic explanations for the way terror wasâŚ
As a child of the Cold War, I was fascinated from an early age by Russiaâand the history of U.S.-Soviet relations. I still remember devouring everything I could about many of the events of the 1960âsâthe Cuban Missile Crisis, the coup that replaced Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. These and much else from this period inspired me to become a journalist. And while I have had a wide-ranging and occasionally globe-trotting career, returning to the subject of U.S.-Russia relations in Russian Roulette â and the feeling that we made a genuine contribution to contemporary historyâwas unusually satisfying.
No book exposed the horrors of Josef Stalinâs purges more graphically and with greater power than Robert Conquestâs epic, The Great Terror. The book chronicled how a paranoid Stalin, convinced his power was threatened by his rival Leon Trotsky and his allies, unleashed a wave of terror by his countryâs NKVDâa forerunner of the KGB--Â that decimated the Soviet leadership and its military with millions of Russians executed or marched to Siberian prison camps. While Stalinâs henchmen staged mock âtrialsâ in Moscow, marked by phony confessions, extracted by torture, liberal apologists in the West sought to justify Stalinâs lunatic crackdown. I read this book in college and it has stayed with me for years-- providing an eye-opening lesson in the willingness of those of all political stripes to turn a blind eye to the evils of totalitarianism.
Robert Conquest's The Great Terror is the book that revealed the horrors of Stalin's regime to the West. This definitive fiftieth anniversary edition features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
One of the most important books ever written about the Soviet Union, The Great Terror revealed to the West for the first time the true extent and nature Stalin's purges in the 1930s, in which around a million people were tortured and executed or sent to labour camps on political grounds. Its publication caused a widespread reassessment of Communism itself.
This definitive fiftieth anniversary edition gathers together the wealth ofâŚ
I have always strived to speak out when surrounded by silence, whether in person through my own voice, or through the books I have written and had published. Not because I am heroic or noble, but because I am angered by suppressed truth, and I believe reality should be shown as it is, not as people believe it should be. That is why the books I chose are so important to me, because they fearlessly exposed the truths the respective authors were determined to show, risks be damned. I hope these books inspire you as much as they have inspired me.
This book showed me in a way Iâd never seen before what life was like for an imprisoned bureaucrat in Stalin-era Russia. The author proved to me that through undeniable detail and unflinching sincerity, you can show an unsettling reality that powerful authorities have worked tirelessly to conceal.
Found within the bookâs pages are poignant anecdotes, lessons, and reflective moments that made me question the very concepts of what a person is capable of doing and enduring under extreme circumstances. I could not get the chapter âThe Buddhaâs Smileâ out of my head, and I donât think I ever will.
The thrilling Cold War masterwork by the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Gulag Archipelago, published in full for the first time.
"Solzhenitsyn's best novel. . . . A great and important book, whose qualities are finally fully available to English-speaking readers.â âWashington Post
Moscow, Christmas Eve, 1949.The Soviet secret police intercept a call made to the American embassy by a Russian diplomat who promises to deliver secrets about the nascent Soviet Atomic Bomb program. On that same day, a brilliant mathematician is locked away inside a Moscow prison that houses the country's brightest minds. He and his fellow prisoners areâŚ
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the worldâs most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the bookâŚ
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Language Teaching Methodologies at Vyatka State University in Kirov, Russia. My book Stalinâs Constitution: Soviet Participatory Politics and the Discussion of the 1936 Draft Constitution was published in November 2017. Most recently I have published an article-length study entitled Peasant Communal Traditions in the Expulsion of Collective Farm Members in the VyatkaâKirov Region 1932â1939 in Europe Asia Studies in July 2012. I am currently conducting research for a future book manuscript on daily life on the collective farms and the day-to-day relationships between collective farmers and local officials.
Soviet satire is often overlooked or dismissed as purely propaganda. John Etty offers a refreshingly updated look at a key Soviet publication and provides the casual reader with an introduction to the colorful and humorous content in the USSRâs premier satirical journal. He explores how content was created, revealing a collaborative process that could involve everyone from the head of the party to everyday readers. While there was oversight and interference from state censors and political authorities, and self-censorship in the 1930s due to repression, Etty reveals that editors and creators had a great deal of creative freedom.
Etty also explores the Krokodil âExtended Universeâ. In the 1920s, when there was a severe shortage of paper and many citizens were illiterate, Live Krokodil, a repertory company was organized in theatres, workersâ and Red Army clubs. Additionally, Krokodil published the Krokodil Library (Biblioteka Krokodila) which included cartoon compendiums andâŚ
After the death of Joseph Stalin, Soviet-era Russia experienced a flourishing artistic movement due to relaxed censorship and new economic growth. In this new atmosphere of freedom, Russia's satirical magazine Krokodil (The Crocodile) became rejuvenated. John Etty explores Soviet graphic satire through Krokodil and its political cartoons. He investigates the forms, production, consumption, and functions of Krokodil, focusing on the period from 1954 to 1964.
Krokodil remained the longest-serving and most important satirical journal in the Soviet Union, unique in producing state-sanctioned graphic satirical comment on Soviet and international affairs for over seventy years. Etty's analysis of Krokodil extends andâŚ
