Stalin as Warlord

How Stalin, for all his strategic misjudgements, succeeded in preparing for war, mobilizing his people and fighting to victory in Berlin remains an intriguing historical question. Stalin as Warlord is a thought-provoking and informed account set squarely in the many debates that surround Stalin's role, but at the same time refreshingly perceptive, intelligently critical and lucidly written. -Richard Overy, author of Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War, 1931-1945 Alfred Rieber's account of Stalin at war cover important military themes and situations that have been overlooked. His book is a great piece of sleuthing and vividly written. -Robert Service, author of Stalin: A Biography How Stalin, for all his strategic misjudgements, succeeded in preparing for war, mobilizing his people and fighting to victory in Berlin remains an intriguing historical question. Stalin as Warlord is a thought-provoking and informed account set squarely in the many debates that surround Stalin's role, but at the same time refreshingly perceptive, intelligently critical and lucidly written. -Richard Overy, author of Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War, 1931-1945 -- Richard Overy A remarkably penetrating picture of Stalin's wartime rule. Rieber brings out the contradictions between destructive and creative impulses that shaped the Kremlin's exercise of power in those critical years. Timely reading for anyone seeking to understand the fundamentals driving Russia. -Alex Pravda, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony's College, University of Oxford -- Alex Pravda A sweeping and magisterial overview of Stalin's qualities and defects as the leader of a great power during a huge war which involved coordinating numerous different areas of national life. -Geoffrey Hosking, author of Russia and the Russians -- Geoffrey Hosking