000			01608cam a22001815i 4500
020			_a9780300179040
082			_a335.43092 _bROB.S
100	1		_aRoberts, Geoffrey
245	1	0	_aStalin's library : _ba dictator and his books / _cGeoffrey Roberts.
260			_aNew Heaven: _bYale University Press, _c2022
300			_a259pages
505			_a compelling intellectual biography of Stalin told through his personal library In this engaging life of the twentieth century's most self-consciously learned dictator, Geoffrey Roberts explores the books Stalin read, how he read them, and what they taught him. Stalin firmly believed in the transformative potential of words and his voracious appetite for reading guided him throughout his years. A biography as well as an intellectual portrait, this book explores all aspects of Stalin's tumultuous life and politics. Stalin, an avid reader from an early age, amassed a surprisingly diverse personal collection of thousands of books, many of which he marked and annotated revealing his intimate thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Based on his wide-ranging research in Russian archives, Roberts tells the story of the creation, fragmentation, and resurrection of Stalin's personal library. As a true believer in communist ideology, Stalin was a fanatical idealist who hated his enemies-the bourgeoisie, kulaks, capitalists, imperialists, reactionaries, counter-revolutionaries, traitors-but detested their ideas even more.
650			_aBiography
650			_aSoviet Union
650			_aStalin, Joseph, 1878-1953
650			_aIntellectual life
942			_cREF
999			_c672594 _d672594