I have just finished Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore, an unexpected xmas present that turned out to be a fantastic gift. The whole pace of the book reads like an eastern European Godfather, the bank robberies, the struggles and betrayals. It is fantastic. The only criticism I can make is that it tends to gloss over the politics of the time. The Marxist revolutionaries are talked about in great detail but the knowledge of the Marxist theories they follow so passionately are left to the reader to either already know or find out. That criticism aside it is well worth a read and has spurred me on for a year of revolutionary reading. I am waiting for Montefiore's first Stalin book Stalin:Court of the red Tsar and I've also ordered John Reeds Ten days that shook the world, a book I have been meaning to read for years. I may even give Trotsky's history of the Russian revolution another go, I tried it a couple of years ago but found it a little heavy going to try and read at work on nights. I tried to get Deutschers biographies of Trotsky but they are out of print at the moment and I can't afford to pay what some of the second hand dealers want for them. It's back in print later in the year so I'll pick it up then.
Imagine my joy when I saw that a Stalin biopic was on on channel four late one night. I recorded it and finally sat down to watch it the other day. I had to turn it off, the make up artist had obviously just finished a stint on Spitting Image and had really gone to town on Robert Duvall, it was just ridiculous to the point where I couldn't watch it. Robert Duvall's accent was straight out of the Godfather it was just too much to bear. There was also a painful voice over in a dripping Russian accent that I couldn't stand. Never mind I'll just leave that one alone.
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