Hitler and Stalin Audiobook By Laurence Rees cover art

Hitler and Stalin

The Tyrants and the Second World War

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Hitler and Stalin

By: Laurence Rees
Narrated by: John Sackville
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An award-winning historian plumbs the depths of Hitler and Stalin's vicious regimes, and shows the extent to which they brutalized the world around them.

Two 20th century tyrants stand apart from all the rest in terms of their ruthlessness and the degree to which they changed the world around them. Briefly allies during World War II, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin then tried to exterminate each other in sweeping campaigns unlike anything the modern world had ever seen, affecting soldiers and civilians alike. Millions of miles of Eastern Europe were ruined in their fight to the death, millions of lives sacrificed.

Laurence Rees has met more people who had direct experience of working for Hitler and Stalin than any other historian. Using their evidence he has pieced together a compelling comparative portrait of evil, in which idealism is polluted by bloody pragmatism, and human suffering is used casually as a political tool. It's a jaw-dropping description of two regimes stripped of moral anchors and doomed to destroy each other, and those caught up in the vicious magnetism of their leadership.

©2020 Laurence Rees (P)2020 PublicAffairs Europe Germany Military Russia Wars & Conflicts World World War II Stalin War Interwar Period

Critic reviews

"Via meticulous research and mesmerizing testimonies, Rees expertly reveals the 'malleability of the human mind'."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This richly detailed history powerfully documents the destruction that tyrants with utopian visions can inflict upon the world."—Publishers Weekly

"In this fascinating study of two monsters, Rees is extraordinarily perceptive and original."—Sir Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad
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Well put together history of two tyrants/mass murderers. Had a little trouble hearing the narrator in noisier environments.

Interesting comparison of two tyrants

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A previous reviewer wrote that this work was biased against Stalin. This is not the case. In fact Rees tells an important but unfortunately all too often forgotten side of Stalins Russia in the war. Crucially, he is also nor an apologist for thr Germans. A couple oft quoted potential myths are recited but altogether this is an excellent work.

Great and in my opinion well balanced

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Breezed through it with the historical details and the eyewitness accounts mingled with reports, diary entries, official documents. It kept me engaged till the end and I started it right over.

Excellent read

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I did not realize the utter devastation of the Russian people by both the German and their own government. I have read many accounts of what the Jewish people unfortunately went through. I feel for all of those who lived through WWII. this author provides a comprehensive overview of the incredible World War that is hopefully the last.

Very insightful

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A very good insight into what is the mindset of those with absolute power

Excellent research

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Author definitely hates Stalin. Several stories are patently false, or apocryphal at best. Otherwise, a good book.

Biased in favor of capitalism

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