Excellent choices, although I would add Stephen Kotkin's Stalin biography (two volumes in print, the third forthcoming) and drop Figges as he has been shown to be a fabricator and plagiarist by Rachel Polonsky (full disclosure: her husband is a friend and she has given me autographed copies of her books). He also published anonymous derogatory reviews of his rivals on Amazon. Figges ended up paying a substantial court settlement for his misdeeds. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/apr/23/historian-orlando-figes-amazon-reviews-rivals
The Kotkin Stalin bios are indeed worthy and it was in the back of my mind to include them, but I thought the list was already getting pretty long. On Figes, the Amazon reviews thing was a ridiculous stunt on his part for which he has admitted culpability. Very poor behavior. As for l'affaire Polonsky-Figes I will pass over in silence; there is much that has been said on both sides. But I still think A People's Tragedy is an outstanding book whatever Figes' personal flaws.
Well said, and perhaps my take on Figes smacks of canceling, which I usually find offensive. One reason why his conduct offended me is that it led me to distrust what seemed an excellent and remarkable book.
Excellent choices, although I would add Stephen Kotkin's Stalin biography (two volumes in print, the third forthcoming) and drop Figges as he has been shown to be a fabricator and plagiarist by Rachel Polonsky (full disclosure: her husband is a friend and she has given me autographed copies of her books). He also published anonymous derogatory reviews of his rivals on Amazon. Figges ended up paying a substantial court settlement for his misdeeds. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/apr/23/historian-orlando-figes-amazon-reviews-rivals
The Kotkin Stalin bios are indeed worthy and it was in the back of my mind to include them, but I thought the list was already getting pretty long. On Figes, the Amazon reviews thing was a ridiculous stunt on his part for which he has admitted culpability. Very poor behavior. As for l'affaire Polonsky-Figes I will pass over in silence; there is much that has been said on both sides. But I still think A People's Tragedy is an outstanding book whatever Figes' personal flaws.
Well said, and perhaps my take on Figes smacks of canceling, which I usually find offensive. One reason why his conduct offended me is that it led me to distrust what seemed an excellent and remarkable book.
Was going to mention the same two books, and likewise, am eagerly awaiting the third.
The descriptions of Beria and his techniques is unparoled since the chapter on the camps in Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.