tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post3116640531593093216..comments2024-03-23T18:50:06.402+11:00Comments on journey & destination: Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel by Albert MarrinCarolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-8748715350881705312016-10-05T10:32:40.364+11:002016-10-05T10:32:40.364+11:00My problem is I get on all sorts of rabbit trails ...My problem is I get on all sorts of rabbit trails trying to enhance my reading experience. Fascinating, all the same. Marrin also wrote bios on Hitler & Mao for the same audience but I found more than enough in them to get an overall picture of their personalities & their influence.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-76428462980597713502016-10-05T10:28:17.743+11:002016-10-05T10:28:17.743+11:00It's almost unbelievable to read about his per...It's almost unbelievable to read about his pervading influence. Russia is a huge country; there was no internet or mobile phones and yet he managed to control everything to the nth degree.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-12574432119902440832016-10-04T20:12:09.504+11:002016-10-04T20:12:09.504+11:00I have been meaning to read a biography of Stalin ...I have been meaning to read a biography of Stalin for some time. <br /><br />He was such a terrible but important figure that understanding something about him seems essential. <br /><br />When I read a biography I also try to find additional material on the web. I find that it enhances the reading experience. Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-16086796299312142502016-10-04T14:26:52.310+11:002016-10-04T14:26:52.310+11:00That is so interesting about Stalin demanding to b...That is so interesting about Stalin demanding to be worshiped like a god. He was willing to kill so many people for it. <br /><br />I have not read any biographies of him but I have one about Trotsky. I have read a book called The Whisperers. That is an enthralling book about the psychological effects that Stalin's reign incurred on people.<br /><br />Thanks for a good review.Gently Madhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10450371589766691273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-46052045107700576012016-10-04T11:44:07.350+11:002016-10-04T11:44:07.350+11:00GretchenJoanna, Marrin is very readable and if you...GretchenJoanna, Marrin is very readable and if you've read Solzhenistsyn, you'd find him a breeze. Probably because many of his books are written for a younger audience, his writing on people like Stalin, Hitler & Mao is informative without being heavy on the gory details. He includes enough that you definitely get the sense of the atrociousness of what these men did but he doesn't dwell on it too much.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06820925595506920754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7546783121640385268.post-78459719948087453012016-10-04T04:30:37.152+11:002016-10-04T04:30:37.152+11:00I so admire your ability to read and digest this b...I so admire your ability to read and digest this book; I have read about Marrin's biographies and wanted to read one - maybe your example will make it possible for me some day in the future.<br /><br />So far, I have read Solzhenitsyn's <i>...Ivan Denisovich</i> and that was short and intense, but of course, focused on only one human. One of those, I guess, whom Stalin preferred to lump into large groups more easily relegated to the realm of statistics.GretchenJoannahttp://www.gretchenjoanna.comnoreply@blogger.com