Robert Service completes his masterful trilogy on the founding figures of the Soviet Union in an eagerly anticipated; authoritative biography of Leon Trotsky.Trotsky is perhaps the most intriguing and; given his prominence; the most understudied of the Soviet revolutionaries. Using new archival sources including family letters; party and military correspondence; confidential speeches; and medical records; Service offers new insights into Trotsky. He discusses Trotsky’s fractious relations with the leaders he was trying to bring into a unified party before 1914; his attempt to disguise his political closeness to Stalin; and his role in the early 1920s as the progenitor of political and cultural Stalinism. Trotsky evinced a surprisingly glacial and schematic approach to making revolution. Service recounts Trotsky’s role in the botched German revolution of 1923; his willingness to subject Europe to a Red Army invasion in the 1920s; and his assumption that peasants could easily be pushed onto collective farms. Service also sheds light on Trotsky’s character and personality: his difficulties with his Jewish background; the development of his oratorical skills and his preference for writing over politicking; his inept handling of political factions and coldness toward associates; and his aversion to assuming personal power.Although Trotsky’s followers clung to the stubborn view of him as a pure revolutionary and a powerful intellect unjustly hounded into exile by Stalin; the reality is very different. This illuminating portrait of the man and his legacy sets the record straight.
#402072 in Books Thomas Alexander Hughes 2016-05-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.40 x 1.60 x 6.40l; .0 #File Name: 0674049632544 pagesAdmiral Bill Halsey A Naval Life
Review
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful. Well-Done Biography of a WWII GreatBy Eric C. EvansIt was time for a first rate biography of William Halsey; and this is it. Historical figures like Halsey who have outsized personalities and who also make critical errors; like Halsey’s at Leyte Gulf; often receive rough treatment from Historians. In the decades that followed WWII; it seemed historians favored Halsey over his counterpart Admiral Raymond Spruance. But in the last 20 years or so historians have began to reassess the quite; steady Spruance; winner of the decisive Battle of Midway; and to realize that he was perhaps a better Admiral than previous realized. Because the two men are so different; especially in the way they waged war; it is often assumed by historians that to make the case for one man; is the same as making a case against the other. So as the estimation on Spruance has risen the estimation of Halsey has fallen. But as different as they are both men were excellent admirals. Both had strengths that helped the US win the Pacific War and both had weaknesses that lead to significant mistakes. In ADMIRAL BILL HALSEY: A NAVAL LIFE author Thomas Alexander Hughes draws a balanced well-rounded portrait of Halsey. And while he draws the sharp contrast between the two admirals; Hughes lets each man stand independently of the other. The strongest parts of the book is Hughes grasp of naval strategy and willingness to let Halsey be judged by the mores of his own time; rather that holding him to that of ours. (Halsey would not have fared well in 21st century America.) The weakest part of this book is the narrative. Hughes does not seem to be a natural storyteller and his prose is often bogged down with what feels to the reader as extraneous detail. Nevertheless; this is the best biography of Halsey I have ever come across. It is an extremely well researched; competently written; balanced portrayal of one of America’s greatest admirals.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. wELL THOUGHT OUT; RESEARCHED AND WRITTENBy Jason GoodwinWe always find ourselves discussing Titans in the context of our easy lives and the world their sacrifice created for us. This is an excellent volume...well researched and well presented. I have nothing but respect for those that choose to look at legends from different angles but also stand beside the writings of authors such as POTTER; D'ESTE and BLUMENSON in accounting for the lives of titans. This book does the subject honor and the author credit. Well worth the read and well placed in any collection.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I quite enjoyed learning more about this incredible manBy RichI quite enjoyed learning more about this incredible man. His human-side and; importantly the last years of his life on how the true burden of fame is not an easy mantel to wear; an important note for all of use as we become oler - famous or not.I recommend this to any serious WW II fan.
