The Autobiography of Joseph Stalin

Most of my reading is non-fiction. On the rare occasions I do read fiction, it is normally of the historical nature. Very few fictions really catch and hold my attention. This "autobiography" of the ultimate tyrant of the 20th century was one of those very few.When I first got the book, I glanced through it and was initally disappointed that it did not include WW II and the post-war era. I had expected the book to take the reader right up to Stalin's death in 1953. However, once I got into the book I could understand Mr. Lourie's reasons for not going that far.The book is about Stalin's obsession with his arch rival whom he had already exiled, Leon Trotsky. He is fearful that a has-been could still jeopardize his iron grip over the USSR by revealing to the world Stalin's deepest and darkest secret -- deeper and darker than his other deep and dark secrets. The book alternates between Stalin relating his biography and his plotting the demise of Trotsky. The reader could gain an understanding of why he was what he was.Although I can understand why Lourie ended the book with the end of Trotsky's life, I do hope there is a sequel. At the risk that most sequels tend not to match the same level as the original, I would be interested in how Mr. Lourie would interpret Stalin's perception of the "Great Patriotic War", the early Cold War period, post WW2 purges, USSR's entry into the atomic era, etc. Perhaps the sequel could take the reader right up to before Stalin's stroke that eventually ended his life.Another approach may be to write a companion "autobiography" by Leon Trotsky leading up to that fateful day in August 1940 when Stalin's assassin killed him with an ax handle.If Mr. Lourie or some other talented writer wanted to try a similar "autobiography" on other major historical personalities (e.g., Napoleon, Hitler, Lenin, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, etc.) I could be tempted to read such books.

The author dons the persona of one of the most dangerous men in the history of humanity, Joseph Stalin, to provide a thorough and authentic account of his obsessions, his fears and his ruthless ambitions. The book, which is highly extensive in scope, shows Stalin's poor childhood and how he is abused by his sadistic father. Then, he enters a seminary, begins to doubt the existence of God and mixes in the circles of revolutionary socialists. His rise in the party hierarchy and his association with Lenin are well documented, including his rivalry with the most gifted intellectual genius of the Bolshevik movement, Lev Trotsky, who easily eclipses the "cobbler's son", Stalin. After his ascent to power, Stalin believes that his life is threatened by Trotsky, now exhiled in Mexico, and he proceeds to meticulously plan the latter's assassination. For him, Trotsky is a dangerous and lingering fascination, and he exerts a profound unease on his throughout the duration of the novel, until Stalin finally succeeds in infiltrating Trotsky's circle with an N.K.V.D. agent who slaughters Trotsky with an axe, thus allowing Stalin to rule without any threat or opposition from potential rivals. Although the repressions and policies pursued by Stalin were truly disastrous, this does not prevent Richard Lourie from presenting him as a sympathetic, misunderstood, undervalued and not always unlikeable individual who rose to absolute tyranny. The book excels in two ways. It is very well researched, drawing on all the major episodes in Stalin's life, thus being on a par with some of the best biographies of Stalin available. In addition, it moves with the pace of suspense thriller, containing a number of twists, reversals and red herrings. The conversational, sometimes wryly humorous tone of Stalin the narrator is perhaps one of the most accurate reconstructions so far of the "unknown Stalin".

Lourie's "Autobiography" is an extremely well-written journey, albeit fictional, into Stalin's heart of darkness. It is compelling. This piece of fiction evokes the nature of the beast in ways that straightforward biographies (Volkogonov, etc.) sometimes do not. True, Volkognov's "Stalin" masterfully details the life of Stalin. However, Lourie's fiction, in my opinion, seems to have found that withered spot that passed for Koba's soul. It is no wonder that Lourie's preface reads "To whatever sprit possessed me to write this book, may it be gone forever now."

Yes, I know it's fiction, but a piece of fiction like this has to navigate all the cliffs of historical truth (or what we think is historical truth) to get us to suspend our disbelief, and it succeeds brilliantly. I've read a LOT of biographies of Stalin (Ulam, Deutscher, De Jonge, Volkogonov, Tucker, Conquest and a few others. I much prefer Tucker) and this book just doesn't put a foot wrong. But more than that, it's..compelling. Of COURSE Stalin thinks Trotsky is trying to kill him! After all, he is trying to kill Trotsky, and he assumes Trotsky is as driven as he is, although he fears Trotsky will obtain much more lethal weaponry than an icepick. A wonderful, appalling book. Of course it only covers a part of Stalin's world - personally, I would have loved to have seen more of his views of his supporters, such as Kaganovich, Kalinin, etc. - but it's a novel, keep saying that to yourself, it's a novel, not an autobiography in the usual sense. Obligatory reading.

This is Uncle Joe as Charlie Manson, Charlie Chaplin, Charlie McCarthy, Clark Kent, and Edgar G. Robinson as Little Ceasar. Lourie's twisted vision of Stalin's twisted vision is hypnotic, narcotic, purgative, hilarious about mass murder in the way that Joseph Heller was funny about murder by ones, twos, and 22s.In the end, I'm not sure if this appallingly rational, compulsive, and even charming demon is more Stalin or more Lourie, nor do I care. This novel is pug-ugly, prize-fighter graceful, a smugly vicious tour-de-force act of literary impersonation akin to Sid Cesar or Jerry Lewis doing Winston Churchill.This is a book to break your heart from pain and your ribs from laughing at the same time.For Lourie's next project, anticipate a Slobadon Milosecvic cookbook, specializing in outdoor grilling of ethnic food.