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Stalinism at War: The Soviet Union in World War II
"Masterfully told and compelling reinterpreted." The Moscow Times
Stalinism at War tells the epic story of the Soviet Union in World War Two.
Starting with Soviet involvement in the war in Asia and ending with a bloody counter-insurgency in the borderlands of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltics, the Soviet Union's war was both considerably longer and more all-encompassing than is sometimes appreciated. Here, acclaimed scholar Mark Edele explores the complex experiences of both ordinary and extraordinary citizens – Russians and Koreans, Ukrainians and Jews, Lithuanians and Georgians, men and women, loyal Stalinists and critics of his regime – to reveal how the Soviet Union and leadership of a ruthless dictator propelled Allied victory over Germany and Japan.
In doing so, Edele weaves together material on the society and culture of the wartime years with high-level politics and unites the military, economic and political history of the Soviet Union with broader popular histories from below. The result is an engaging, intelligent and authoritative account of the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1949.
Stalinism at War tells the epic story of the Soviet Union in World War Two.
Starting with Soviet involvement in the war in Asia and ending with a bloody counter-insurgency in the borderlands of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltics, the Soviet Union's war was both considerably longer and more all-encompassing than is sometimes appreciated. Here, acclaimed scholar Mark Edele explores the complex experiences of both ordinary and extraordinary citizens – Russians and Koreans, Ukrainians and Jews, Lithuanians and Georgians, men and women, loyal Stalinists and critics of his regime – to reveal how the Soviet Union and leadership of a ruthless dictator propelled Allied victory over Germany and Japan.
In doing so, Edele weaves together material on the society and culture of the wartime years with high-level politics and unites the military, economic and political history of the Soviet Union with broader popular histories from below. The result is an engaging, intelligent and authoritative account of the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1949.
288 pages, Paperback
Published July 27, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 30, 2023
Pequeño ensayo que nos cuenta las vicisitudes del Estado soviético y en especial de su sufrido pueblo, para afrontar a Segunda Guerra Mundial y como la barbarie y el maltrato puede cristalizar en un sistema que sea, como recalca el autor, eficaz pero muy poco eficiente.
Me hubiera gustado un ensayo con 200 o 300 páginas más ya que se queda escaso en casi cada punto que trata , pero es sin duda un buen cimiento para profundizar en posteriores lecturas.
Me hubiera gustado un ensayo con 200 o 300 páginas más ya que se queda escaso en casi cada punto que trata , pero es sin duda un buen cimiento para profundizar en posteriores lecturas.
September 15, 2023
This is book is for those who already familiar with the basic facts of the Russian campaign in world war 2 and who want to find out more about how Soviet society and government and the economy coped with the pressures of war. It also covers the periods before and after the war when Stalin was in control. A central question is - how well did Stalin prepare the USSR for the war he knew was coming? The answer is complicated but interesting.
Although I already knew a great deal about the Russian campaign, I learnt a lot from this book. Mainly about the attitudes and feelings of the Russian and other Soviet peoples at different stages of the war and about the numerous wars the USSR fought against is own peoples after the war.
Although I already knew a great deal about the Russian campaign, I learnt a lot from this book. Mainly about the attitudes and feelings of the Russian and other Soviet peoples at different stages of the war and about the numerous wars the USSR fought against is own peoples after the war.
October 19, 2022
Un magistral ensayo en el que su autor analiza paso a paso como el régimen estalinista moldeó el país hasta convertirlo en una maquinaria bélica cuasi perfecta y mostrándonos por el camino como esta experiencia fue cambiando a la sociedad soviética de la época, llegando su herencia hasta la actual Rusia de Putin.
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April 28, 2023
Gran ensayo que desmonta el mito del pacto con Hitler para "ganar tiempo" ante la guerra futura. La opacidad del régimen soviético hizo posible un rearme a niveles muy superiores al, muy difundido, de los nazis.
July 20, 2024
This is an ambitious book that covers a lot of ground. Probably too much for the number of pages it has. There are plenty of end notes showing sources, but really, this book only seems to scratch the surface. It takes in the full gamut of the war, and doesn't just concentrate on Stalin (Sebag Montefiore), warfare (Overy), the people (Fitzpatrick), the NKVD and camps ((Rayfield, Applebaum) or stray into becoming a campaign history. Nor is it a hagiography like Radzinsky's work.
I found it very interesting and although I don't go as far as McMeekin in regards the significance of lend lease, I do think Edele underplayed it. However, in a longer and deeper book, he may have had the space to do into this more deeply. You could say this about much of the book.
It is a good book and a useful read, especially as it includes so many journal entries and interviews from people who weren't prominent. It's also great to see the Far East and the unpleasantness in the occupied west following the war receiving space, as these are oft overlooked. However, unless you're pretty new to the topic, you'll be left wishing for more from this book. An expanded edition would be nice.
I found it very interesting and although I don't go as far as McMeekin in regards the significance of lend lease, I do think Edele underplayed it. However, in a longer and deeper book, he may have had the space to do into this more deeply. You could say this about much of the book.
It is a good book and a useful read, especially as it includes so many journal entries and interviews from people who weren't prominent. It's also great to see the Far East and the unpleasantness in the occupied west following the war receiving space, as these are oft overlooked. However, unless you're pretty new to the topic, you'll be left wishing for more from this book. An expanded edition would be nice.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews