Thank you to Netgalley and the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I studied history at A-levels, with a specialisation in the European front during WWII, but only upon reading this book did I realise how much I truly didn't know about Stalin and Hitler. The way Rees parallels the two leaders really brings out and highlights the brutality of their methods and the methods they used to stay in power. Despite the geographical difference, the similarities, I found were uncanny, and made me think of the ways authoritarian leaders consolidate and maintain power, not just in the past but with an extension into the present day.

Rees is a wonderful historical writer. I was very excited to read this ad I’ve read Auschwitz- The Final Solution, many many times, and learn something new from each reading. This text was no different and I will need to read it numerous times to take it all in. Personally I knew a lot more about Hitler than Stalin but it is clear here, that he was no picnic either. He was capable of just the same depravity as his one time ally was. It’s a book that I will not forget in a hurry.

Really interesting book which looks at Hitler and Stalin. I particularly loved the comparisons drawn between the 2 dictators. Would recommned to those who want an interesting historical non-fiction in Hitler and Stalin

Excellent book, very informative and very readable. I wanted to try this as I have a family member studying German and Russian history so wanted to inform myself (and seem intelligent!) and this book really does a fantastic job especially for someone like me who last studied history a lifetime ago. I'd say it will be appreciated by both those with some and those with no knowledge of Hitler and/or Stalin. Highly readable and a huge warning from the past for the years to come. I see the published hardcover is now in the shops and looks very good with colour pictures as well. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for ARC.

Award-winning historian Laurence Rees plumbs the depths of Hitler and Stalin's vicious regimes, and shows the extent to which they brutalized the world around them. Two 20th century tyrants stand apart from all the rest in terms of their ruthlessness and the degree to which they changed the world around them. Briefly allies during World War II, Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin then tried to exterminate each other in sweeping campaigns unlike anything the modern world had ever seen, affecting soldiers and civilians alike. Millions of miles of Eastern Europe were ruined in their fight to the death, millions of lives sacrificed.

Laurence Rees has met more people who had direct experience of working for Hitler and Stalin than any other historian. Using their evidence he has pieced together a compelling comparative portrait of evil, in which idealism is polluted by bloody pragmatism, and human suffering is used casually as a political tool. It's a jaw-dropping description of two regimes stripped of moral anchors and doomed to destroy each other, and those caught up in the vicious magnetism of their leadership. This is a fascinating, accessible deep-dive into Hitler and Stalin’s crimes against humanity and it's clear Rees has extensively researched this area. I learned many new things as it's such an informative book and Rees writes with passion and nuance. Many thanks to Viking for an ARC.

I have always enjoyed Laurence Rees work and this is an excellent read, as well as an important look at Hitler and Stalin as leaders. This is not a biography, as such, limiting its comparison to the years over WWII, from 1939 – 1945, when the two men were first thrown into an uneasy alliance and then enemies during the war.

Rees is clear that it is WWI which changed the fortunes of both men and does give some background, for those less familiar with the biographies of both Stalin and Hitler. Initially, they appear like circling dogs – wary, and yet aware, of each other. Both initially dismissive, but also acknowledging that they would have to deal with the other. Yet, it is also clear, that Hitler would have preferred to have had a pact with the British, who he admired, but who rejected his advances. In other words, says Rees, he was forced to arrange a pact with a country he wanted to invade and fight a country he wanted as a friend. In other words, the pact, uneasy as it was, was never likely to last and, of course, it didn’t.

As always, the author uses – but never over-uses – witness testimony. This book is full of snippets of those who dealt with, met, or were caught up in events over the war years. Also, the book is full of ways in which the two men differed and, also, of their style of leadership. Hitler, surprisingly perhaps, worked far more within the political system he inherited than did Stalin. Also, he did not necessarily deal with (i.e. trundle off to Siberia, or simply kill) anyone who opposed him. As Rees points out, this meant that he had more conspiracies to deal with, as well as attempts on his life, than did Stalin. A man suspicious of all, who appeared silently, accepted no opposition, watched and listened, more than he talked. Whereas Hitler liked an audience and the sound of his own voice.

This is a fascinating account of two historical heavyweights; seriously written, but full of interesting anecdotes, it is absolutely gripping. Sure to be in the Christmas stockings of many history lovers, it is a brilliant read, stunningly researched and absolutely gripping. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.