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History Russia & The Former Soviet Union

Stalin's Gamble

The Search for Allies against Hitler, 1930-1936

by (author) Michael Jabara Carley

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Aug 2023
Category
Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Eastern, General, Germany
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781487544416
    Publish Date
    Aug 2023
    List Price
    $95.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781487545918
    Publish Date
    Jul 2023
    List Price
    $95.00

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Description

Shedding light on the origins of the Second World War in Europe, Stalin’s Gamble aims to create a historical narrative of the relations of the USSR with Britain, France, the United States, Poland, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Romania during the 1930s. The book explores the Soviet Union’s efforts to organize a defensive alliance against Nazi Germany, in effect rebuilding the anti-German Entente of the First World War.

 

Drawing on extensive research in Soviet as well as Western archives, Michael Jabara Carley offers an in-depth account of the diplomatic manoeuvrings which surrounded the rise of Hitler and Soviet efforts to construct an alliance against future German aggression. Paying close attention to the beliefs and interactions of senior politicians and diplomats, the book seeks to replace one-sided Western histories with records from both sides. The book also offers an inside look at Soviet foreign policy making, with a focus on Stalin as a foreign policy maker as well as his interactions with his colleagues. Told in a fascinating narrative style, Stalin’s Gamble attempts to see the European crisis of the 1930s through Soviet eyes.

About the author

Michael Jabara Carley is a professor of history at the Université de Montréal.

Michael Jabara Carley's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Stalin’s Gamble is a remarkable reconstruction not only of Soviet foreign policy but of an entire era that led to the enormous suffering of the Second World War. The author’s superb scholarship and fluid writing style merit the attention of a broad selection of scholars, diplomats, and the educated public.”

<em>Russian Review</em>