Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel [Hardcover]

Albert Marrin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1988

An account of the life of the man who shaped the Soviet Union, from pre-revolutionary Russia to its evolution as a superpower and the descent of the "Iron Curtain."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stalin, Marrin writes, was "among the two or three worst men who ever lived." The numbers bear this outStalin was directly or indirectly responsible for 14 million deaths in the famine of the 1930s, 12 million deaths in the gulag and 20 million deaths in World War II (an "unnecessarily high" price for victory). This biography of Stalin is gripping, however, because of its complexity and boldness as well as its horrors. The author of numerous books for young adults, Marrin explains the rise of Bolshevism, describes the tenets of socialist thought and shows Stalin's role in the creation of a totalitarian state. Stalin himselfhis battered youth, his incapacity for expressing gratitudeis vividly presented. This is an agile history of a complicated subject, a breakthrough for readers not yet ready for the tomes on adult shelves. Bibliography; index and photos not seen by PW. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10 This excellent biography of Stalin follows the same pattern as Marrin's outstanding Hitler (Viking, 1987). He chronicles Stalin's early life and then turns to the history of the USSR and the influence Stalin had on it, emphasizing that Stalin was the USSR during his long regime. Marrin provides exceptional historical background, explaining how czarist Russia was ready for revolution and how the communists were able to seize power. He spends some time on Lenin and the communist consolidation of power, but most of the book is about the will of Stalin and how he imposed that will on the revolution and the entire country. His manipulations and purges are described in detail, as is his struggle with Hitler and Germany. Throughout the book, Marrin does a superb job of conveying the sheer horror of Stalin's totalitarian regime, describing for readers how one man can be the cause of millions of deaths and enormous suffering. He uses quotations, primary sources, statistics, and excellent writing to make a difficult subject understandable and interesting for intermediate readers. As the USSR enters the age of glasnost, this title is very timely and fills a need for material for this age group. It is better than Joseph Stalin (Watts, 1969; o.p.) by Liversidge and completely replaces older titles such as Appel's The Age of Dictators (Crown, 1968; o.p.). Stalin is an outstanding biography. It deserves a place in all libraries serving intermediate and young adult readers. Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, Mo.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1St Edition edition (October 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670821020
• ISBN-13: 978-0670821020
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Albert Marrin is an award winning author of over 40 books for young adults and young readers and four books of scholarship. These writings were motivated by the fact that as a teacher, first in a junior high school in New York City for nine years and then as professor of history and chairman of the history department at Yeshiva University until he retired to become a full time writer, his paramount interest has always been to make history come alive and accessible for young people.

Winner of the 2008 National Endowment for Humanities Medal for his work, which was presented at the White House, was given "for opening young minds to the glorious pageant of history. His books have made the lessons of the past come alive with rich detail and energy for a new generation."

Dr. Marrin's numerous other awards include the Washington Post Childrens'Book Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, the James Madison Award for Lifetime Achievement, several Horn Book awards by the Boston Globe, consistently appearing on the best book of the year lists of the American Library Association, frequent recognition by Book Lists, and the Western Heritage Award for best juvenile nonfiction book presented at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame among others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A short course in modern Russian history . . ., February 14, 2009

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Grandma (NH, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel (Paperback)

If you teach history to the middle grades or have a child of that age interested in history, you know that reading material more advanced than the 40-page survey intended for third graders yet not quite so heavy as to be called a "tome" can be very hard to find. Marrin's work fills the bill.

I first learned of Marrin when I acquired The Yanks are Coming: The United States in the First World War for a unit on WWI for my homeschoolers. A life-long history buff, I found that book to be the single best thing I've read on WWI.

Albert Marrin, chairman of the history department at Yeshiva University, is not only knowledgeable about his subject matter, he has the ability to write about history in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading and is adept at providing the big picture view of things. Readers of Stalin: Man of Steel are presented with a decent history of the rise of the USSR along with Stalin's biography.

One note: Stalin was written in 1988, before the fall of the USSR. Educators will want to make mention of that, as a couple of things Marrin speaks of as "continuing to this day" have since changed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resouce for Stalin, April 8, 2010

By 

Ruth Funaro-Lopez (Victorville, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel (Paperback)

I absolutely love Albert Marrin. He is an excellent author for history, especially for high school. He has a pleasant writing style, and includes many detailed examples.

I read Stalin before I had my thirteen year old read it, and I was impressed. Marrin not only includes a biography of Stalin, but he adds much information about the Russian Revolution, Lenin, Hitler, WWII, the Korean War, and the Cold War. Much of Marrin's histories are this way. He takes a big chunk of history and puts it all together so we can see the entire picture.

Excellent read!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent runthrough of 20th century Russian history, May 15, 2011

By 

M. Lively - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel (Paperback)

I finished this book today, and I must say that I throughly enjoyed it.

Albert Marrin is able to arrange the historical events in such a way that the book almost seems like a work of fiction. Even though I already had an outline of what happened during the reign of Joseph Stalin, Marrin adds tons of details and statistics that give you fantastic insight into the life of the most murderous man in history.

I loved this book and will definitely check out other historical works by Marrin. If you are a fan of Russian history or history in general, I implore you to give this book a chance. It's a phenomenal biography that will have you hooked.