Young Stalin
by Simon Sebag-Montefiore · first published 2007
12mentions
2recommended by
3HN commenters
2014–2026first – last mentioned
67% recommend33% neutral
The shadowy journey from obscurity to power of the Georgian cobbler's son who became the Red Tsar--the man who, along with Hitler, remains the modern personification of evil: a merciless psychopath who was, as well, a consummate politician, the dynamic world statesman who helped create and industrialize the USSR, outplayed Churchill and Roosevelt, and defeated Hitler? Historian Montefiore tells the story of a charismatic, turbulent boy born into poverty, of doubtful parentage, scarred by his upbringing but possessed of unusual talents. Admired as a romantic poet and trained as a priest, he fou
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Has anyone read Montefiore's Young Stalin and Court of the Red Tzar? Those books were an absolutely wild ride. Stalin really comes across as one of the more unusual characters of history. No one in his native Georgia liked him, so they were…
on “Stalin's daughter on her life in Wisconsin (2010)” ↗…can't recommend the various books on him by Simon Sebag Montefiore enough (and also his book on Jerusalem, and the one on the Romanovs, but that's off topic). https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/826564.Young_Stalin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/282108.Stalin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9477628-jerusalem https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/21094391-the-romanovs
on “The Yugoslavian Leader Who Survived Waves of Stalin’s Assassins” ↗If anyone is after anything on the topic, please try The Court of the Red Czar or The Young Stalin. Both by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Ironically a Jew with interesting views on Zionism and an excellent history of Jerusalem. The Radio New Zealand interview with him below covers his views on Zionism briefly.…
on “ACLU of California Statement: White Supremacist Violence Is Not Free Speech” ↗…imprisoned: your class, your region, your town, ethnicity, religion, friends, family, profession and everything else. There will be loads of good books about it, but Simon Sebag Montefiore has done a few - Young Stalin and The Court of the Red Czar come to mind immediately.
on “Mikhail Devyatayev” ↗Montefiore's "Young Stalin" which covers his life from birth to the revolution is a wild book. I like Montefiore because he has a real respect for the maniac genius and energy of the guy. What kind of person does it take to overthrow…
on “My Friend, Stalin’s Daughter” ↗…could recall his sources quickly. He was also reckless and good looking - his career path is not that of your typical bank robber. Simon Sebag Montefiore has written some worthwhile books on his life. ‘Young Stalin’ is an interesting read [1]. Stalin was a truely terrible human. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/826564.Young_Stalin
on “Hitler-Mannerheim Recording” ↗…and even Stalin, were exiled Simon Sebag-Montefiore has done a great book about Stalin’s early years [1]. The follow [2] on is good too, but even darker. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/826564.Young_Stalin [2] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/282108.Stalin
on “Review: Demons, by Fyodor Dostoevsky” ↗…learned it from Stalin who ran organized crime gangs before the revolution that did extortion, racketeering, armed robbery, and piracy on the high seas among other things to fund Lenin's revolution. Young Stalin by Montefiore gets really deep into this. It's a very interesting read.
on “North Korean's 100k fake IT workers net $500M a year for Kim” ↗…really swollen/large. It might be some sort of lense distortion though that seems unlikely. I wonder what that’s all about? Putting in a plug for Simon Sebag Montiefiore’s books on Russia. Specifically ‘Young Stalin’ and ‘Court of the Red Czar’. They are excellent.
on “The dark story behind Stalin’s popular photo with a Soviet girl” ↗There is a great book on the Romanovs by Montifiore which covers the grisly end and the events leading up to it. It’s well worth reading his other books on Russia, particularly Young Stalin as it covers the same time period and gives a good sense of the chaos and confusion of the revolution. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/books/review/the-romanovs...
on “Remains of the murdered Romanovs 'authentic'” ↗One of the fun things about reading Young Stalin, which is a biography of Stalin from birth to the Russian revolution, is nobody liked him in Georgia where he grew up, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union, so it was easy for the biographer…
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe Be Here Now - Ram Das Whole Earth Catalog - Stewart Brand Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace Savage Continent - Keith Lowe Forged - Bart D. Ehrman Young Stalin - Simon Sebag Montefiore Court of the Red Czar - Simon Sebag Montefiore
on “Ask HN: Which books changed your life?” ↗