Kevin McDermott (1)

Kevin McDermott's book on Stalin, in a general introductory series called "European History in Perspective", is probably the best short overview of all the issues in historical scholarship relating to Stalin and Stalinism in print at this time. Eminently readable, McDermott analyzes the person and policies of Stalin as well as his social context and the international politics of the time, and does so in a particularly balanced manner which takes all the controversy into account. Stalin is one of the most controversial politicians of all time perhaps, and the many different currents in both historical and political discussions about his person and legacy range from the absolutely adoring to frothing hatred, so it is by no means a small feat to have succeeded in giving a good impression of the controversy over the most important issues in Stalin scholarship as well as giving a balanced summary of the weight of evidence.

McDermott is certainly no fan of Stalin, but is not a rabid Cold Warrior either. Contrary to some authors, he does not diminish the achievements of the USSR during Stalin's reign, while at the same time always acknowledging the effects, mostly deleterious, his policies had on the workers and peasants on whose behalf they were (at least nominally) undertaken. McDermott correctly analyzes Stalin's policies as demanding huge sacrifices of his people in exchange for extremely rapid industrialization and modernization, combined with a despotic personal tyranny of Stalin which could bear no disagreement or dissent of any kind. Of course the question whether Stalin, overall, was historically 'worth it' as well as the question what a different leader, say Trotsky or Bukharin, would have done can never be wholly answered, but McDermott certainly gives an excellent overview of all the things one would need to consider to give an opinion on those questions. And the questions are of crucial importance, especially to socialists.

The book's organization is thematic, such that every chapter discusses an 'aspect' of Stalin: Stalin as modernizer, Stalin as leader in wartime, Stalin as follower of Lenin (or not), Stalin as dictator, and so on. But he maintains a broad chronological order both within and through these chapters as well, making the whole of Stalin's reign quite easy to grasp, especially for the interested layman. Of course one can have differing opinions on some of McDermott's conclusions, such as the degree to which he (following Service) considers Stalin to be a 'mainstream' Leninist, but McDermott relies in every topic mainly on the modern scholarship of people like Fitzpatrick, Lewin, and Khlevniuk, which greatly enhances the value of this work. Some might complain that he still gives too much credence to people like Courtois and Conquest, but since their Cold War professional anti-communism has strongly shaped popular views of Stalin, this is probably a good decision for an introductory work. Of special interest is also McDermott's chapter on Stalin's relations with the Comintern, which is regrettably short; very little has been written on this subject of great importance to the history of socialism. Fortunately, McDermott has written a monograph on the subject: "The Comintern: A History of International Communism from Lenin to Stalin". I can much recommend this book to people who are interested in learning who Stalin was and what he did, without wanting to read anything too specialized or inaccessible.… (altro)