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Lenin's Harem

Author : William Burton McCormick
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781908483447
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (834 download)

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Book Synopsis Lenin's Harem by : William Burton McCormick

Download or read book Lenin's Harem written by William Burton McCormick and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Latvia, 1905. Amidst the ashes of the failed workers' rebellions of 1905, Latvian aristocrat Wiktor Rooks finds that he has lost everything: home and heritage, his life's very purpose. Coerced into the Russian Army, Wiktor is soon swept up into the turbulent years of the Great War and Bolshevik Revolution. In the service of his enemies, he finds himself torn between the noble classes of his birth and his new communist masters, between calls for freedom on Baltic shores and waves of oppression radiating from Moscow's centre. By a twist of fate, he becomes a member of the elite Red Riflemen of the Revolution, a regiment nicknamed "Lenin's Harem" for their absolute loyalty to the cause. Wiktor adapts to his situation by hiding his aristocratic past. He finds friendship amongst the soldiers and love with a communist girl. When the wars end, he returns to his homeland a different man. But betrayals await in R?ga and Stalin's soldiers are soon knocking on the midnight door... Set in Russia and Latvia between 1905 and 1941, 'Lenin's Harem' is a story of nationhood, brotherhood and love throughout the most turbulent years of the twentieth century. The novel explores identity in a time of changing loyalties, and the search for a just struggle when all causes are tainted by bloodshed and betrayal.

The Prometheus Saga

Author : Elle Andrews Patt
Publisher : IndieWrites, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1680160583
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (81 download)

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Book Synopsis The Prometheus Saga by : Elle Andrews Patt

Download or read book The Prometheus Saga written by Elle Andrews Patt and published by IndieWrites, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-10-21 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We are not alone. The Prometheus Probe is a human by design and sent by an advanced alien civilization. Prometheus's mission is to report on the development of intelligent life on Earth. It looks human. It walks among us, watches us, and learns from us, without exposing its secret. Through the ages, Prometheus's artificial eyes have observed humanity at its best and its worst. It has seen us rise to challenges and fall into hubris, risk all for the sake of others, and commit unspeakable atrocities. The Probe observes the human condition and reports its findings to its creator. And sometimes, it acts. THE PROMETHEUS SAGA is an anthology, thirteen speculative stories that explore what it means to be human. Florida Writers Association's Royal Palm Literary Awards: "Lilith," by Antonio Simon, Jr., won 1st Place for Published Short Story. "The Pisces Affair," by Daco Auffenorde, won 3rd Place for Published Short Story. "Manteo," by Elle Andrews Patt, won 3rd Place for Published Novella. "The Strange Case of Lord Byron's Lover," by Parker Francis, won 1st Place in General Category, and was also 1st Runnerup for Published Book of the Year.

House of Tigers

Author : William Burton McCormick
Publisher : Wildside Press LLC
ISBN 13 : 147946659X
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (794 download)

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Book Synopsis House of Tigers by : William Burton McCormick

Download or read book House of Tigers written by William Burton McCormick and published by Wildside Press LLC. This book was released on 2022-08-27 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ilya Dudnyk, a corrupt but romantic Russian police inspector, is trapped inside his oligarch employer’s Siberian mansion with an unknown killer, a duplicitous Latvian journalist chained to his arm, and an apocalyptic insect plague raging for hundreds of kilometers beyond the smoke barriers and barricaded windows. Can Ilya track down the killer before he is the next victim? Or will the endless swarms find a way inside and all are consumed by a hundred trillion ravenous, blood-sucking mosquitoes? An Honorable Mention for the Black Orchid Novella Award, “House of Tigers” is published here for the first time ever!

In Shadows Written

Author : Ken Pelham
Publisher : IndieWrites, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1680160672
Total Pages : 227 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (81 download)

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Book Synopsis In Shadows Written by : Ken Pelham

Download or read book In Shadows Written written by Ken Pelham and published by IndieWrites, Inc.. This book was released on 2016-01-26 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twelve stories comprising In Shadows Written: An Anthology of Modern Horror takes us into the hearts and minds of thirteen award-winning authors. Explore the wide reach of horror fiction of the early 21st century. “Familiar” by Ken Pelham. Is it research or witchcraft? Science or magic? A young Bostonian discovers the connection between her disintegrating marriage and a mysterious accident on the dark wet highway to Salem. “The Legend of Johnny Bell” by Elle Andrews Patt. Ah, Johnny Bell. His heart is in the right place, but he’s not the sharpest machete in the zombie apocalypse. Finally, an author has found a good use for Pomeranians. “The Antiquary’s Wife” by William Burton McCormick. Folk legend, prejudice, and suspicion haunt a young American couple traveling the Ukrainian countryside of the 19th century. This novelette was a Finalist for the prestigious Derringer Award. “Kev” by Michael Sears. Two boys out on a late-night lark, looking for thrills, a little breaking and entering. You take into account the things that could go wrong but forget that the world has real-life flesh and blood monsters among its vast web of living things. “Insecurity Complex” by Jade Kerrion. What’s a self-respecting ghost to do when everyone is so over-entertained with their gadgets and personal electronics? Short, sweet, and funny. Winner of the Royal Palm Literary Award. “A Dream Within A Dream” by Bria Burton. Our memories and realities are shaped by that which we need to be true. A young girl struggles through family tragedy in this haunting story inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. “Texting April” by Parker Francis. Consumer electronics puts a horrifying spin on the traditional ghost story. Text messages will never be the same. Winner of the Royal Palm Literary Award. “Gabriel” by Melanie Terry Griffey. We’ve all brought home a stray at one time or another, and loved that poor beast as if it were family. Not all strays are what they seem. Winner of the 2010 Flights of Fantasy award. “The Alexandrite Necklace” by Daco Auffenorde and Robert Rotstein. Vanity, jealousy, and jewelry to die for steer a Hollywood actress on an upward career arc. But every arc must ultimately reach a zenith. A modern retelling of Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace.” “Beating Cats” by John Hope. Addiction preys upon innocence in this dark, disturbing tour of the human psyche, the monsters within us, and the slide into depravity. “Three Two One, Wake Up” by M.J. Carlson. Science fiction in the tradition of Philip K. Dick meets horror in the tradition of Jack Finney and H.P. Lovecraft. Are your friends and neighbors really who you think? Are you better off not knowing? “Die Fabrik (The Factory)” by Charles A. Cornell. In a dieselpunk vision of Nazi Germany, weapons research and genocide become one in a nightmarish, secret factory in this novella.

Russian Roulette

Author : Giles Milton
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1620405709
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis Russian Roulette by : Giles Milton

Download or read book Russian Roulette written by Giles Milton and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-03-10 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recounts the extraordinary and thrilling story of the British spies in revolutionary Russia, led by Mansfield Cumming, who would one day pioneer the field of covert action and become MI6, and their mission to foil Lenin's plot for global revolution. 40,000 first printing.

When Lenin Lost His Brain

Author : Giles Milton
Publisher : John Murray
ISBN 13 : 1473608902
Total Pages : 103 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (736 download)

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Book Synopsis When Lenin Lost His Brain by : Giles Milton

Download or read book When Lenin Lost His Brain written by Giles Milton and published by John Murray. This book was released on 2015-03-26 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this marvellous collection of fascinating footnotes, Giles Milton delves into the little-known stories from history. Covering everything from adventure, war, murder and slavery to espionage, including the stories of the female Robinson Crusoe, Hitler's final hours, Japan's deadly balloon bomb and the emperor of the United States, these tales deserve to be told.

The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook

Author : Kate White
Publisher : Quirk Books
ISBN 13 : 1594747776
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (947 download)

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Book Synopsis The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook by : Kate White

Download or read book The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook written by Kate White and published by Quirk Books. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enjoy over 100 recipes and murderously fun facts from legendary mystery authors like Sue Grafton, Louise Penny, Harlan Coben, and James Patterson! With art deco embellishments and stunning photos, this heirloom cookbook is the perfect gift for book lovers and mystery fans. Whether you’re planning a sinister dinner party or whipping up comfort food for a day of writing, you’ll find plenty to savor in this cunning collection of recipes from bestselling mystery authors! Discover hard-boiled breakfasts, thrilling entrees, and cozy desserts, including: • Mary Higgins Clark’s Celebratory Giants Game Night Chili • Harlan Coben’s Myron’s Crabmeat Dip • Nelson DeMille’s Male Chauvinist Pigs in a Blanket • Lee Child’s Coffee, Pot of One • Gillian Flynn’s Beef Skillet Fiesta • Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone’s Famous Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich • Charlaine Harris’s Very Unsophisticated Supper Dip • James Patterson’s Grandma’s Killer Chocolate Cake • Louise Penny’s Madame Benoît’s Tourtière • Scott Turow’s Innocent Frittata Featuring full-color photography and intriguing sidebars on the surprising—and sometimes deadly—links between food and foul play, this is the ultimate cookbook for crime fiction aficionados.

Lovecraftiana: Walpurgisnacht Edition 2017

Author : Rogue Planet Press
Publisher : Lulu.com
ISBN 13 : 1326990829
Total Pages : 65 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (269 download)

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Book Synopsis Lovecraftiana: Walpurgisnacht Edition 2017 by : Rogue Planet Press

Download or read book Lovecraftiana: Walpurgisnacht Edition 2017 written by Rogue Planet Press and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Lenin

Author : Stefan T. Possony
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351793918
Total Pages : 801 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (517 download)

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Book Synopsis Lenin by : Stefan T. Possony

Download or read book Lenin written by Stefan T. Possony and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-04-21 with total page 801 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in the UK in 1966, this was the first biography of Lenin which tied together extensive material unearthed in WWII, and it illuminates the complex personality and explains the riddle of Lenin's seemingly impossible rise to power. Using primary sources such as previously inacessible documents from the German, Austrian and Japanese foreign offices, and the vast holdings of the Hoover Institution, the book cuts through many comtemporaneous myths in Communist sources. The volume is a landmark in the study of the birth of Soviet Communism and its revolutionary enterprise.

Nancy Pickard Presents Malice Domestic 13: Mystery Most Geographical

Author : Verena Rose
Publisher : Wildside Press LLC
ISBN 13 : 1479429562
Total Pages : 363 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (794 download)

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Book Synopsis Nancy Pickard Presents Malice Domestic 13: Mystery Most Geographical by : Verena Rose

Download or read book Nancy Pickard Presents Malice Domestic 13: Mystery Most Geographical written by Verena Rose and published by Wildside Press LLC. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with a new take on mysteries in the Agatha Christie tradition -- 30 original tales set around the world! Included are: The Barrister's Clerk, by Michael Robertson The Belle Hope, by Peter DiChellis Arroyo, by Michael Bracken Muskeg Man, by Keenan Powell The End of the World, by Susan Breen To Protect the Guilty, by Kerry Hammond Dying in Dokesville, by Alan Orloff The House in Glamaig's Shadow, by William Burton McCormick Summer Smugglers, by Triss Stein The Jamaican Ice Mystery, by John Gregory Betancourt Death at the Congressional Cemetery, by Verena Rose Cabin in the Woods, by Sylvia Maultash Warsh Mad About You, by G. M. Malliet What Goes Around, by Kathryn Johnson Summer Job, by Judith Green Death in a Strange and Beautiful Place, by Leslie Wheeler We Shall Fight Them, by Carla Coupe Marigold in the Lake, by Susan Thibadeau Murder on the Northern Lights Express, by Susan Daly Czech Mate, by Kristin Kisska Keep Calm and Love Moai, by Eleanor Cawood Jones Isaac's Daughters, by Anita Page A Divination of Death, by Edith Maxwell Payback With Interest, by Cheryl Marceau Island Time, by Laura Oles If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Murder, by Josh Pachter The Breaker Boy, by Harriette Sackler Death on the Beach, by Shawn Reilly Simmons Ridgeline, by Peter W. J. Hayes Ho'oponopono, by Robin Templeton Also features a new Foreword, by Nancy Pickard

Black Cat Weekly #52

Author : William Burton McCormick
Publisher : Wildside Press LLC
ISBN 13 : 1667640216
Total Pages : 840 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (676 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Cat Weekly #52 by : William Burton McCormick

Download or read book Black Cat Weekly #52 written by William Burton McCormick and published by Wildside Press LLC. This book was released on 2022 with total page 840 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #52. This week, our acquiring editors have outdone themselves—Michael Bracken has an original story by William Burton McCormick, “House of Tigers,” which was a Black Orchid Novella Award finalist. Though it didn’t win, it’s a great story. (Competition is fierce for this particular award, since it judged by Linda Landrigan, editor of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. I won the first Black Orchid for my story “Horse Pit,” and I haven’t dared enter since—I try to read all the winners, and they keep getting better and better. These days I probably wouldn’t stand a chance!) Barb Goffman also has an original, “It’s Not Tennis” by Shannon Taft, another good one. And Cynthia Ward has selected the modern classic “Whiter Teeth, Fresher Breath” by Tom Marcinko, which proves aliens do have it all. Even better oral hygiene! Plus we have a mystery novel by David Goodis (author of Dark Passage and Shoot the Piano Player), a space opera by E.E. “Doc” Smith, and science fiction from Arthur Leo Zagat and Stephen Marlowe! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “House of Tigers,” by William Burton McCormick [Michael Bracken Presents, Novella] “Mailed It,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “It’s Not Tennis,” by Shannon Taft [Barb Goffman Presents short story] Cassidy’s Girl, by David Goodis [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Whiter Teeth, Fresher Breath,” by Tom Marcinko [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Picnic,” by Stephen Marlowe [short story] “The Cavern of the Shining Pool,” by Arthur Leo Zagat [novella] Galactic Patrol, by E.E. “Doc” Smith [novel]

Stalin

Author : Stephen Kotkin
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143132156
Total Pages : 1249 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis Stalin by : Stephen Kotkin

Download or read book Stalin written by Stephen Kotkin and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-11-20 with total page 1249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Monumental.” —The New York Times Book Review Pulitzer Prize-finalist Stephen Kotkin has written the definitive biography of Joseph Stalin, from collectivization and the Great Terror to the conflict with Hitler's Germany that is the signal event of modern world history In 1929, Joseph Stalin, having already achieved dictatorial power over the vast Soviet Empire, formally ordered the systematic conversion of the world’s largest peasant economy into “socialist modernity,” otherwise known as collectivization, regardless of the cost. What it cost, and what Stalin ruthlessly enacted, transformed the country and its ruler in profound and enduring ways. Building and running a dictatorship, with life and death power over hundreds of millions, made Stalin into the uncanny figure he became. Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is the story of how a political system forged an unparalleled personality and vice versa. The wholesale collectivization of some 120 million peasants necessitated levels of coercion that were extreme even for Russia, and the resulting mass starvation elicited criticism inside the party even from those Communists committed to the eradication of capitalism. But Stalin did not flinch. By 1934, when the Soviet Union had stabilized and socialism had been implanted in the countryside, praise for his stunning anti-capitalist success came from all quarters. Stalin, however, never forgave and never forgot, with shocking consequences as he strove to consolidate the state with a brand new elite of young strivers like himself. Stalin’s obsessions drove him to execute nearly a million people, including the military leadership, diplomatic and intelligence officials, and innumerable leading lights in culture. While Stalin revived a great power, building a formidable industrialized military, the Soviet Union was effectively alone and surrounded by perceived enemies. The quest for security would bring Soviet Communism to a shocking and improbable pact with Nazi Germany. But that bargain would not unfold as envisioned. The lives of Stalin and Hitler, and the fates of their respective dictatorships, drew ever closer to collision, as the world hung in the balance. Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is a history of the world during the build-up to its most fateful hour, from the vantage point of Stalin’s seat of power. It is a landmark achievement in the annals of historical scholarship, and in the art of biography.

Lenin

Author : Valeriu Marcu
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 452 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Lenin by : Valeriu Marcu

Download or read book Lenin written by Valeriu Marcu and published by . This book was released on 1928 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Soviet Music and Society Under Lenin and Stalin

Author : Neil Edmunds
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 113441563X
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (344 download)

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Book Synopsis Soviet Music and Society Under Lenin and Stalin by : Neil Edmunds

Download or read book Soviet Music and Society Under Lenin and Stalin written by Neil Edmunds and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-06 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the place of music in Soviet society during the eras of Lenin and Stalin. It examines the different strategies adopted by composers and musicians in their attempts to carve out careers in a rapidly evolving society, discusses the role of music in Soviet society and people's lives, and shows how political ideology proved an inspiration as well as an inhibition. It explores how music and politics interacted in the lives of two of the twentieth century's greatest composers - Shostakovich and Prokofiev - and also in the lives of less well-known composers. In addition it considers the specialist composers of early Soviet musical propaganda, amateur music making, and musical life in the non-Russian republics. The book will appeal to specialists in Soviet music history, those with an interest in twentieth century music in general, and also to students of the history, culture and politics of the Soviet Union.

The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies

Author : Jonathan Auerbach
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199331855
Total Pages : 481 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (993 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies by : Jonathan Auerbach

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies written by Jonathan Auerbach and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-11-13 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Derived from the word "to propagate," the idea and practice of propaganda concerns nothing less than the ways in which human beings communicate, particularly with respect to the creation and widespread dissemination of attitudes, images, and beliefs. Much larger than its pejorative connotations suggest, propaganda can more neutrally be understood as a central means of organizing and shaping thought and perception, a practice that has been a pervasive feature of the twentieth century and that touches on many fields. It has been seen as both a positive and negative force, although abuses under the Third Reich and during the Cold War have caused the term to stand in, most recently, as a synonym for untruth and brazen manipulation. Propaganda analysis of the 1950s to 1989 too often took the form of empirical studies about the efficacy of specific methods, with larger questions about the purposes and patterns of mass persuasion remaining unanswered. In the present moment where globalization and transnationality are arguably as important as older nation forms, when media enjoy near ubiquity throughout the globe, when various fundamentalisms are ascendant, and when debates rage about neoliberalism, it is urgent that we have an up-to-date resource that considers propaganda as a force of culture writ large. The handbook will include twenty-two essays by leading scholars from a variety of disciplines, divided into three sections. In addition to dealing with the thorny question of definition, the handbook will take up an expansive set of assumptions and a full range of approaches that move propaganda beyond political campaigns and warfare to examine a wide array of cultural contexts and practices.

Stalin

Author : Stephen Kotkin
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 073522448X
Total Pages : 1249 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (352 download)

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Book Synopsis Stalin by : Stephen Kotkin

Download or read book Stalin written by Stephen Kotkin and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-10-31 with total page 1249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Monumental.” —The New York Times Book Review Pulitzer Prize-finalist Stephen Kotkin has written the definitive biography of Joseph Stalin, from collectivization and the Great Terror to the conflict with Hitler's Germany that is the signal event of modern world history In 1929, Joseph Stalin, having already achieved dictatorial power over the vast Soviet Empire, formally ordered the systematic conversion of the world’s largest peasant economy into “socialist modernity,” otherwise known as collectivization, regardless of the cost. What it cost, and what Stalin ruthlessly enacted, transformed the country and its ruler in profound and enduring ways. Building and running a dictatorship, with life and death power over hundreds of millions, made Stalin into the uncanny figure he became. Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is the story of how a political system forged an unparalleled personality and vice versa. The wholesale collectivization of some 120 million peasants necessitated levels of coercion that were extreme even for Russia, and the resulting mass starvation elicited criticism inside the party even from those Communists committed to the eradication of capitalism. But Stalin did not flinch. By 1934, when the Soviet Union had stabilized and socialism had been implanted in the countryside, praise for his stunning anti-capitalist success came from all quarters. Stalin, however, never forgave and never forgot, with shocking consequences as he strove to consolidate the state with a brand new elite of young strivers like himself. Stalin’s obsessions drove him to execute nearly a million people, including the military leadership, diplomatic and intelligence officials, and innumerable leading lights in culture. While Stalin revived a great power, building a formidable industrialized military, the Soviet Union was effectively alone and surrounded by perceived enemies. The quest for security would bring Soviet Communism to a shocking and improbable pact with Nazi Germany. But that bargain would not unfold as envisioned. The lives of Stalin and Hitler, and the fates of their respective dictatorships, drew ever closer to collision, as the world hung in the balance. Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is a history of the world during the build-up to its most fateful hour, from the vantage point of Stalin’s seat of power. It is a landmark achievement in the annals of historical scholarship, and in the art of biography.

Stalin and His Hangmen

Author : Donald Rayfield
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 0307431835
Total Pages : 592 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Stalin and His Hangmen by : Donald Rayfield

Download or read book Stalin and His Hangmen written by Donald Rayfield and published by Random House. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stalin did not act alone. The mass executions, the mock trials, the betrayals and purges, the jailings and secret torture that ravaged the Soviet Union during the three decades of Stalin’s dictatorship, were the result of a tight network of trusted henchmen (and women), spies, psychopaths, and thugs. At the top of this pyramid of terror sat five indispensable hangmen who presided over the various incarnations of Stalin’s secret police. Now, in his harrowing new book, Donald Rayfield probes the lives, the minds, the twisted careers, and the unpunished crimes of Stalin’s loyal assassins. Founded by Feliks Dzierzynski, the Cheka–the Extraordinary Commission–came to life in the first years of the Russian Revolution. Spreading fear in a time of chaos, the Cheka proved a perfect instrument for Stalin’s ruthless consolidation of power. But brutal as it was, the Cheka under Dzierzynski was amateurish compared to the well-oiled killing machines that succeeded it. Genrikh Iagoda’s OGPU specialized in political assassination, propaganda, and the manipulation of foreign intellectuals. Later, the NKVD recruited a new generation of torturers. Starting in 1938, terror mastermind Lavrenti Beria brought violent repression to a new height of ingenuity and sadism. As Rayfield shows, Stalin and his henchmen worked relentlessly to coerce and suborn leading Soviet intellectuals, artists, writers, lawyers, and scientists. Maxim Gorky, Aleksandr Fadeev, Alexei Tolstoi, Isaak Babel, and Osip Mandelstam were all caught in Stalin’s web–courted, toyed with, betrayed, and then ruthlessly destroyed. In bringing to light the careers, personalities, relationships, and “accomplishments” of Stalin’s key henchmen and their most prominent victims, Rayfield creates a chilling drama of the intersection of political fanaticism, personal vulnerability, and blind lust for power spanning half a century. Though Beria lost his power–and his life–after Stalin’s death in 1953, the fundamental methods of the hangmen maintained their grip into the second half of the twentieth century. Indeed, Rayfield argues, the tradition of terror, far from disappearing, has emerged with renewed vitality under Vladimir Putin. Written with grace, passion, and a dazzling command of the intricacies of Soviet politics and society, Stalin and the Hangmen is a devastating indictment of the individuals and ideology that kept Stalin in power.