Richard Overy 
The Dictators: Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia [EPUB ebook] 

‘A book of great importance; it surpasses all others in breadth and depth.’–Commentary

If the past century will be remembered for its tragic pairing of civilized achievement and organized destruction, at the heart of darkness may be found Hitler, Stalin, and the systems of domination they forged. Their lethal regimes murdered millions and fought a massive, deadly war. Yet their dictatorships took shape within formal constitutional structures and drew the support of the German and Russian people. In the first major historical work to analyze the two dictatorships together in depth, Richard Overy gives us an absorbing study of Hitler and Stalin, ranging from their private and public selves, their ascents to power and consolidation of absolute rule, to their waging of massive war and creation of far-flung empires of camps and prisons. The Nazi extermination camps and the vast Soviet Gulag represent the two dictatorships in their most inhuman form. Overy shows us the human and historical roots of these evils.

About the author

Richard Overy is the author of many outstanding histories of World War II, including Why the Allies Won and the best-selling Blood and Ruins, winner of the Society of Military History Distinguished Book Award. His study of Hitler and Stalin, The Dictators, won the Wolfson History Prize. He lives in England and Italy.