I came to read this book via a very interesting route. Previously, I read and enjoyed The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life, by Tom Reiss quite a bit. [b:The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life|109378|The Orientalist Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life|Tom Reiss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1367256909l/109378._SY75_.jpg|105408] was about Lev Nussenbaum, a Jewish author from Baku, Azerbeijan. This prolific author had written several books that look interesting, including Stalin: The Career of a Fanatic. I had much trouble obtaining the book. The book was written in 1931 and apparently had not been borrowed much since. The library found it in archives after a week-long search.

The book was well worth the wait. The book was written while Stalin's reign as Soviet dictator was still young. Russia and the rest of the world blew many chances to dispatch this man. Basically, his stock in trade was first brutality and then Communism. He frankly had little idea, even after seven years as unquestioned rule, what Communism was about. To be fair, the book states that he was avidly reading to learn about the subject. This was a doctrine that caused a lot of needless human misery.

I gave the book a well-deserved five-stars. ( )