Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Justifiably, Medvedev, the great Marxist historian, has called this book ``the main work of my life.'' His conclusions remain substantially the same as the first edition of this volume ( LJ 1/15/72). Stalin's terror was a ``deliberate policy and not the results of some persecution mania''; he was possessed by ``limitless ambition and limited ability,'' and was supported by ``a majority of the Soviet people . . . backward enough to be deceived.'' Some may feel the author fails to connect all this to Soviet socialism today. Nevertheless, the new edition's strength lies in the voluminous new testimony and findings, such as the assertion that in 1934 Stalin's poor physical health caused Politboro ``to name a possible successor Kirov.'' Indispensable for larger Soviet collections.-- Zachary T. Irwin, Behrend Coll., Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

The original edition of Let History Judge--wherein Medvedev detailed the realities of life in Stalin's death camps--was published more than two decades ago. Prompted by the fear that since the appearance of the first edition there has been an ongoing attempt to rehabilitate Stalin's image as "a wise statesman," a "prudent manager," and an "outstanding military leader," Medvedev has updated the book to reflect his new research. He adds great weight to the counterperception of Stalin: evil incarnate and an inadequate military tactician (Medvedev insists the Soviets were victorious over the Germans in World War II simply by weight of numbers). To be indexed. --Allen Weakland