Joseph Stalin: A Life from Beginning to End
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Joseph Stalin: A Life from Beginning to End
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Paul Aulridge Jr.
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By:
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Hourly History
About this listen
There can be no doubt that Stalin is one of the most notorious and controversial figures in history. He presents a puzzling paradox for both psychologists and sociologists; he was simultaneously revered, feared, loved, and hated during his lifetime. So much has been written about the life of Joseph Stalin, and yet upon closer inspection, he still seems to present us with quite an enigma.
His cruelty towards his political opponents and dissidents is well known, but so are his efforts to go out of his way in lifting up the most downtrodden and desperate members of Soviet society, giving them the chance that Tsarist Russia would not.
Inside you will hear about....
- A Change of Weather
- The Real Revolution Begins
- From Exile to Supreme Leader
- A Brave New Word
- Stalin’s Gambit
- Stalin Makes a Comeback
- Defending the Capitol
- Going West
Stalin is known as a brutish dictator who struck a bargain with Hitler as if he was an old friend, yet it was this same Stalin who would almost single-handedly save Europe from Nazi occupation. Who was Stalin? What did he really want? In this audiobook, we explore the complexities and nuances of the living, breathing conundrum who called himself Joseph Stalin.
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History of Germany
- A Captivating Guide to German History, Starting from 1871 through the First World War, Weimar Republic, and World War II to the Present
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story5 out of 5 stars 36
Germany is one of the richest and most influential countries in the world, which is amazing when you consider that the nation is only about the size of the US states of Oregon and Washington combined. It’s even more astounding when you consider that at the end of World War II, every major German city (and many minor ones) had been flattened by the Allied bombing campaign. Still more amazing is that the country has gone from international pariah and home of the Holocaust to one of the most well-regarded and humanitarian nations on Earth.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Concise
- By J Stewart on 04-09-24
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Marshal Josip Broz Tito: The Life and Legacy of Yugoslavia's First President
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
The World War II era produced many leaders of titanic determination, men whose strengths and weaknesses left an extraordinary imprint on historical affairs. Josip Broz Tito, better known to history as Marshal Tito, was undoubtedly one of these figures. Originally a machinist, Tito leveraged his success in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) and a number of extraordinary strokes of luck into dictatorial rule over Yugoslavia for a span of 35 years. World War II proved the watershed that enabled him to secure control of the country.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very short but says a lot
- By NebSoilDoc on 03-28-18
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A Savage War of Peace
- Algeria 1954-1962
- By: Alistair Horne
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 29 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 413
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 296
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 292
The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused the fall of six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict, and as many European settlers were driven into exile. From the perspective of half a century, it looks less like the last colonial war than the first postmodern one.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent history of France's Viet Nam
- By David on 04-10-16
By: Alistair Horne
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Stalin
- New Biography of a Dictator
- By: Oleg V. Khlevniuk, Nora Seligman Favorov - translator
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 331
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 296
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 295
This essential biography, by the author most deeply familiar with the vast archives of the Soviet era, offers an unprecedented, fine-grained portrait of Stalin, the man and dictator. Without mythologizing Stalin as either benevolent or an evil genius, Khlevniuk resolves numerous controversies about specific events in the dictator's life while assembling many hundreds of previously unknown letters, memos, reports, and diaries into a comprehensive, compelling narrative of a life that altered the course of world history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it, but wouldn't want to live it
- By Neil on 01-12-20
By: Oleg V. Khlevniuk, and others
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1914
- The Year The World Ended
- By: Paul Ham
- Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
- Length: 22 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
Few years can justly be said to have transformed the earth: 1914 did. In July that year, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Britain and France were poised to plunge the world into a war that would kill or wound 37 million people, tear down the fabric of society, uproot ancient political systems and set the course for the bloodiest century in human history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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How the war started
- By Jean on 02-24-14
By: Paul Ham
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Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,334
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,179
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,170
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent, mildly but honestly biased, terrible narration
- By Schaq on 04-01-17
By: Daniel Gordis
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Reset
- Iran, Turkey, and America's Future
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
What can the United States do to help realize its dream of a peaceful, democratic Middle East? Stephen Kinzer offers a surprising answer in this paradigm-shifting book. Two countries in the region, he argues, are America's logical partners in the 21st century: Turkey and Iran.
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5 out of 5 stars
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challenges stereotypes
- By R.S. on 06-14-10
By: Stephen Kinzer
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Churchill, Hitler, and 'The Unnecessary War'
- How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World
- By: Patrick J. Buchanan
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 606
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 467
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 469
In this monumental and provocative history, Patrick Buchanan makes the case that, if not for the blunders of British statesmen - Winston Churchill first among them - the horrors of two world wars and the Holocaust might have been avoided and the British Empire might never have collapsed into ruins.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A classic of history books
- By Benedict on 04-04-09
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The Russian Revolution
- A New History
- By: Sean McMeekin
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 502
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 450
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 445
From an award-winning scholar comes this definitive, single-volume history that illuminates the tensions and transformations of the Russian Revolution. In The Russian Revolution, acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin traces the events which ended Romanov rule, ushered the Bolsheviks into power, and introduced Communism to the world. Between 1917 and 1922, Russia underwent a complete and irreversible transformation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book on the Russian Revolution
- By Nostromo on 09-02-17
By: Sean McMeekin
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The End
- The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945
- By: Ian Kershaw
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 668
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 572
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 567
From the preeminent Hitler biographer, a fascinating and original exploration of how the Third Reich was willing and able to fight to the bitter end of World War II. Countless books have been written about why Nazi Germany lost World War II, yet remarkably little attention has been paid to the equally vital question of how and why it was able to hold out as long as it did.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Engrossing yet horrifying
- By Liz on 10-14-11
By: Ian Kershaw
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A Thousand Hills
- Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 144
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Paul Kagame grew up as a wretched refugee. He and a group of comrades, determined to force their way back home after a generation of exile, designed one of the most audacious covert operations in the history of clandestine war. Then, after taking power, they amazed the world by stabilizing and reviving their devastated country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Most Comprehensive Work on Rwanda
- By Greg on 07-30-10
By: Stephen Kinzer
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Mao
- The Unknown Story
- By: Jung Chang, Jon Halliday
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 29 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,598
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,292
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,295
Based on a decade of research and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before, and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him, this is the most authoritative biography of Mao ever written.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fills many gaps! Very good..but!
- By Jene on 08-07-06
By: Jung Chang, and others
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Stalin, Volume I
- Paradoxes of Power, 1878-1928
- By: Stephen Kotkin
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 38 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 874
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 740
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 739
Volume One of Stalin begins and ends in January 1928 as Stalin boards a train bound for Siberia, about to embark upon the greatest gamble of his political life. He is now the ruler of the largest country in the world, but a poor and backward one, far behind the great capitalist countries in industrial and military power, encircled on all sides. In Siberia, Stalin conceives of the largest program of social reengineering ever attempted.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Book But First Time Listener Beware
- By Nostromo on 03-23-15
By: Stephen Kotkin
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Vietnam War: A Captivating Guide to the Second Indochina War
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4 out of 5 stars 28
The Vietnam War represented a watershed not only in American and Vietnamese history but also internationally. It wasn’t just a battle between two nations, but between two ideologies, two military strategies, and a fight for the hearts and minds of two vastly different national populations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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quick and accurate
- By BDG-ALPHA on 07-31-20