We had the annual library book sale for OK county last weekend, and I picked up a few things (okay, about $130 worth, mostly in cookbooks and travelogues). In this day and age I’m wanting to learn a little bit more about how dictators tick, so I grabbed one Hitler and one Lenin biography each. I got hung up on the different Stalin bios, so I wound up with A.A. Milne instead. He looks interesting, but not on the evil dictator front.
Lenin’s bio is The Life and Death of Lenin by Robert Payne. It’s not bad for an introduction to the main events of Lenin’s life, but it reads like it was written for six-year-olds. I wouldn’t mind having a more thorough book later on. If anyone can offer up a good survey of Ulyanov I’d appreciate it.
Hitler’s is creatively titled Hitler. The author is Joachim C. Fest. It looks promising but between Lenin and Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country I haven’t had a chance to go in depth yet. Is it good, or did I choose poorly? Is there a better one even if Fest is good?
I’d still like to learn more about Joseph Stalin as well. What’s the best Stalin bio?
Can anyone recommend a good critical biography of Ronald Reagan? All that I’ve seen are either from Nancy or someone in her employ.
Finally, are the recent books about Khruschev and Alexander Hamilton good reads? I know Hamilton’s not a dictator, but the book sounds cool.