This biography by Steven Otfinski gives an interesting look into one of history's great villains. Hitler is often thought of as the worst villain of the 20th century, but in reality, Stalin was at least as bad, if not worse, killing far many more people, most of them his own Russian citizens. But because he was an American ally in World War II, when the focus was placed on the evils of the Axis Powers, many American people do not realize how bad Stalin really was. Otfinski successfully paints a portrait of one of history's great tyrants. Most of the information Otfinkski uses in the biography was largely unknown until the end of the USSR, and as he points out, at the time the book was written (it was published in 1993), there was still a great lack of actual knowledge about Stalin's life, and especially his younger years, as most of what was "known" came from Stalin himself, who was always worried about his place in history. In the last 20 years, a great deal more knowledge has become available, so this book is likely somewhat out of date, but the most recent publications tend to be for adult readers, so I would still reccomend this book as an introduction for a burgeoning young historian, especially one interested in World War II history. ( )