This is one of a crop of very short biographies of Soviet dictator published in recent years. Here is what I loved about it: Harold Shukman is a well-known academic, an expert on Soviet history. He knows what he’s talking about. His book is very short — and I love short books. It is more than competent: it’s accurate, not sloppy, and very readable. And it ends with a warning to the citizens of Vladimir Putin’s Russia: Stalin was not a good, strong leader – he was a monster. (I doubt if the book is being published in Russian, but it should be.)

The downside: There isn’t any, really. Maybe slightly gossipy regarding Stalin and his women. He may or may not have had a relationship with his house-keeper who collapsed in tears while Stalin was dying. And maybe one of the reaons why his younger, second wife shot herself was jealousy over Stalin’s flirtacious behaviour with women at Kremlin social events. But otherwise, a clear, accurate and concise book. (Did I already mention that it’s a short book? I may have done.) Recommended.