Renowned author Robert Service's box set brings together three essential biographies for understanding the rise of communism in the 20th century.
The biographies gathered in this box explore the trajectories of three figures who changed the 20th century and whose influence cannot be underestimated. Drawing on historical documents, diaries, letters, newspapers, pamphlets, personal testimonies, and previously unexplored archives from Moscow and the Hoover Institution, Robert Service used his vast knowledge of Russian history to analyze the origins of the Soviet Union through the profiles of its main figures: Lenin , Stalin , and Trotsky . These works examine not only the October Revolution, the ideas of Marxism, the one-party state, and communist economic policy—in an investigation of a state and society that did not entirely disappear after the collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991—but also the romantic clichés and mythologies surrounding these figures, here in their most human and credible portrayal. The result is a fascinating study, a must-read for those who prefer to understand the men and their ideas without ideological filters.
Lenin: The Definitive Biography (714 pp.)
Lenin is a colossal figure whose influence on 20th-century history cannot be underestimated. In this meticulous and definitive biography of this strangely elusive political leader, Robert Service investigates the origins of the Soviet Union and elucidates the nature of the state and society Lenin left behind.
Stalin: A Biography (826 pp.)
With a conventional image of an uneducated political administrator inexplicably transformed into a pathological killer, Stalin has a more complex and fascinating history. Without diminishing the horrors of Stalinism, this book presents an account all the more disturbing for presenting a human and credible view of Stalin—his most comprehensive and compelling portrait to date.
Trotsky: A Biography (770 pp.)
This book is the first full-length biography of Trotsky to be written outside of Russia by a non-Trotskyist. It offers an impartial reading of Leon Trotsky, a leader who played a key role in the creation of the Soviet Union. With an investigative approach, Robert Service challenges the romantic clichés that surround him, such as that of the intellectual revolutionary martyred by Stalin and that of the pure, humanitarian soul unjustly persecuted. The result is a masterful book.
