`Focusing his attention on the obscure fate of a "Stalin File" that was held by the St Petersburg Okhrana and unearthed in the mid-1920s, [Brackman] penetrates the most secret part of a system that was itself obsessed with secrecy — the world of the NKVD. He has re-assessed all the known material and fitted it together with new archival and other unpublished sources, shedding light on many hitherto obscure aspects of the explosive story and explaining their significance with valuable insight. The result is a compelling account of one of the most intriguing mysteries of Soviet history.` from the Foreword by Harold Shukman `Brackman`s approach synthesizes the vast amount of fragmentary information on Stalin, "the man," to form an imposing and unprecedented psychological portrait. Indeed, Stalin comes to life and emerges "real" in the book. No other existing work has accomplished this feat. There are many published biographies and portraits of Stalin. None, however, places a proper face on the man or explains why he acted as he did. This book does both.` David M. Glantz `This is an engaging and provocative psychological study of Stalin. ... recommended to the general public.` CHOICE `...there is much in The Secret File of Joseph Stalin that challenges conventional interpretations of Stalin`s dictatorship. ... his claim that Stalin was an Okhrana agent deserves to be taken seriously.` Christopher Andrew, Sunday Times `Brackman has done a valuable service in piecing together the fragmentary information about Stalin`s record from the published sources.` Orlando Figes, Times Literary Supplement `Poor Stalin: he murdered, poisoned and tortured tens of thousands of Bolsheviks in order to keep his secrets, and yet Roman Brackman is able to disclose and prove them all ... Brackman`s extensive, systematic research into Stalin`s crimes presents us with a well-written history of events leading to the 1917 Communist Revolution and the subsequent developments.` Jerusalem Post
