Recommendations based on Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsarby Simon Sebag Montefiore

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Gulag: A History

    by Anne Applebaum
    A comprehensive account of the Soviet Union's notorious prison system, the history of its inhumane treatment of inmates.

    The Gulag–a vast array of Soviet concentration camps that held millions of political and criminal prisoners--was a system of repression and punishment that terrorized the entire society, embodying ... (Goodreads)

  2. Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943

    by Antony Beevor
    The epic story of the Battle of Stalingrad and its devastating impact on WWII.

    The Battle of Stalingrad was not only the psychological turning point of World War II: it also changed the face of modern warfare. From Antony Beevor, the internationally bestselling author of, ... (Barnes & Noble)

  3. The Fall of Berlin 1945

    by Antony Beevor
    A detailed account of the final days of World War II in Berlin, from the perspectives of both the German and Soviet sides.

    The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Reich in January 1945. Political instructors rammed home the message of Wehrmacht and SS brutality. The result was the ... (Goodreads)

  4. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany

    by William L. Shirer
    The definitive story of Nazi Germany, its rise and fall, and its lasting impacts.

    Hitler boasted that The Third Reich would last a thousand years. It lasted only 12. But those 12 years contained some of the most catastrophic events Western civilization has ever known. No other ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

    by Richard Dawkins
    An exploration of the evidence and science of evolution, highlighting its importance in understanding the history of life on Earth.

    Charles Darwin’s masterpiece, On the Origin of Species , shook society to its core on publication in 1859. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke but he would ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Romanovs: 1613-1918

    by Simon Sebag Montefiore
    An exploration of the 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty, from its rise to its fall.

    The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world’s surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world’s greatest ... (Goodreads)

  7. Peter the Great: His Life and World

    by Robert K. Massie
    Biography of the Russian Tsar, tracing his transformation of the country and the world.

    Against the monumental canvas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe and Russia, unfolds the magnificent story of Peter the Great, crowned at the age of 10. A barbarous, volatile feudal tsar ... (Goodreads)

  8. Mao: The Unknown Story

    by Jung Chang
    Detailed history of Mao Zedong and his devastating impact on China.

    The most authoritative life of the Chinese leader ever written, Mao: The Unknown Story is based on a decade of research, and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never ... (Goodreads)

  9. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

    by Christopher Hitchens
    Criticism of organized religion, arguing it is the root of much suffering in the world.

    With his unique brand of erudition and wit, Hitchens describes the ways in which religion is man-made. "God did not make us," he says. "We made God." He explains the ways in which religion is ... (Goodreads)

  10. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

    by Steve Coll
    A detailed account of the CIA's involvement in Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion to the events leading up to 9/11.

    The news-breaking book that has sent shockwaves through the Bush White House, Ghost Wars is the most accurate and revealing account yet of the CIA's secret involvement in al-Qaeda's evolution. It won ... (Goodreads)

  11. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

    by Jared Diamond
    Tracing the origins of human civilizations through the lens of geography, technology, and biology.

    "Diamond has written a book of remarkable scope ... one of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years." Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a national bestseller: ... (Goodreads)

  12. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda

    by Roméo Dallaire
    Tragic account of the Rwandan genocide from a UN peacekeeping mission commander's perspective.

    On the 10th anniversary of when UN peacekeepers landed in Rwanda, Random House Canada proudly publishes the unforgettable 1st-hand account of the genocide by the leader of the mission. Digging deep ... (Goodreads)

  13. The God Delusion

    by Richard Dawkins
    Scientific exploration of the evidence for and against religious belief.

    A preeminent scientist - and the world's most prominent atheist - asserts the irrationality of belief in God, and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11. With ... (Goodreads)

  14. A Tale of Love and Darkness

    by Amos Oz
    A tale of love, loss, and identity set against the backdrop of the tumultuous history of Israel.

    Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, A Tale of Love and Darkness is at once a family saga and a magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived through its turbulent ... (Goodreads)

  15. A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam

    by Neil Sheehan
    A detailed account of the Vietnam War, and one man's role in it.

    This passionate, epic account of the Vietnam War centres on Lt Col John Paul Vann, whose story illuminates America's failures & disillusionment in SE Asia. A field adviser to the army when US ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956

    by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
    An expose of the horrors of the Soviet gulag system, exposing the cruelty and injustice.

    Drawing on his own incarceration and exile, as well as on evidence from more than 200 fellow prisoners and Soviet archives, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn reveals the entire apparatus of Soviet ... (Goodreads)

  17. Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin

    by Timothy Snyder
    History of the mass extermination of civilians in Central and Eastern Europe during WWII.

    Americans call the Second World War “The Good War.” But before it even began, America’s wartime ally Josef Stalin had killed millions of his own citizens—and kept killing them during and after the ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Selfish Gene

    by Richard Dawkins
    A study of evolutionary biology, exploring how genes act and how they impact behavior.

    Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The ... (Goodreads)

  19. Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

    by Tom Holland
    An exploration of the events that led to the fall of the Roman Republic.

    In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland’s ... (Goodreads)

  20. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

    by Barbara Demick
    Exploration of the lives of North Koreans during the famine and repression of the 1990s.

    Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the ... (Goodreads)

  21. A Short History of Nearly Everything

    by Bill Bryson
    A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.

    In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

    by Edmund Morris
    A biography of Theodore Roosevelt, chronicling his early life, political career, and rise to the presidency.

    Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a classic," The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt stands as one of the greatest ... (Goodreads)

  23. Nicholas and Alexandra

    by Robert K. Massie
    An epic saga about the last Tsar of Russia and the fall of the Romanov dynasty.

    The story of the love that ended an empire. In this commanding book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story ... (Goodreads)

  24. Battle Cry of Freedom

    by James M. McPherson
    A comprehensive history of the American Civil War, focusing on the political and military aspects.

    Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. ... (Goodreads)

  25. Chickenhawk

    by Robert Mason
    A soldier's unflinching account of his harrowing experiences in the Vietnam War.

    A true story from the battlefield that faithfully portrays the horror, the madness, and the trauma of the Vietnam War More than half a million copies of Chickenhawk have been sold since it was first ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Twelve Caesars

    by Suetonius
    Detailed biographies of the twelve Roman Emperors, from Julius Caesar to Domitian.

    As private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, Suetonius gained access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eye-witness accounts) to produce one of the most colorful biographical works in ... (Goodreads)

  27. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

    by Jung Chang
    A family memoir spanning decades of Chinese history, exploring the power of resilience.

    The story of three generations in twentieth-century China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history—a bestselling classic in thirty languages with more than ten ... (Goodreads)

  28. Meditations

    by Marcus Aurelius
    Reflections on Stoic philosophy, exploring the nature of existence and how to live life.

    Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

    by Peter Frankopan
    An epic narrative of the discover of the world's trade routes, spanning more than 3,000 years.

    The New Silk Roads takes a fresh look at the relationships being formed along the length and breadth of the ancient trade routes today. The world is changing dramatically and in an age of Brexit and ... (Goodreads)

  30. Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

    by H.W. Brands
    A biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, exploring his privileged upbringing and his radical presidency that transformed America.

    A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the twentieth century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on ... (Goodreads)