Listen free for 30 days

  • Saving Stalin

  • Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and the Cost of Allied Victory in Europe
  • Written by: John Kelly
  • Narrated by: David de Vries
  • Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Saving Stalin cover art

Saving Stalin

Written by: John Kelly
Narrated by: David de Vries
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.24

Buy Now for $26.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

During World War II, the Allied leaders banded together, forged a great victory - and created a new and dangerous post-war world.

In the summer of 1941, Harry Hopkins, Franklin Roosevelt's trusted advisor, arrived in Moscow to assess whether the US should send aid to Russia as it had to Britain. Unofficially, he was there to determine whether Josef Stalin - the man who had killed over six million Ukrainians during the 1930s - was worth saving.

In this riveting and sweeping narrative, author John Kelly chronicles the turbulent wartime relationship between the great leaders - Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin - and military commanders of America, Britain, and the Soviet Union. Faced with the greatest challenge of the century, the Allied leaders and their war managers struggled against a common enemy - and each other. The story behind how victory was forged is an epic story, rich in drama, passion and larger-than-life personalities. The Allies eventually triumphed, but at what cost?

Using his trademark character-rich writing style and focusing on unique, unknown, and unexplored aspects of the story, Kelly offers a fresh perspective on the decision-making that changed the course of the war - and the course of history.

Saving Stalin brings to vivid life the epic story of the century's greatest human catastrophe. It is an unforgettable master work in historical narrative.

©2020 John Kelly (P)2020 John Kelly
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What the critics say

"A well-rendered popular history describing war and great men." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Earlier John Kelly wrote about the first days of World War II. Now he writes about its end--and about the making of the post-war world. This is narrative history at its finest." (John M. Barry, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Great Influenza)

"John Kelly is a master at bringing historical figures to life, and in Saving Stalin he has the most compelling cast of the twentieth century. Of all the evocative details, I'll never forget Stalin scratching out a doodle of wolves roaming the tundra whenever he felt nervous." (David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good American Family: The Red Scare and My Father)

What listeners say about Saving Stalin

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable but not much new

The hope in picking up this title was to get some more insight into the decisions and negotiations leading to Allied support of the Soviet war effort in WW2. It partially delivered on that, although any semi-serious WW2 history buff will be familiar with most of the narrative. But there was a more detailed presentation of the drama behind some of the key conferences, and the boozy dinners that accompanied them. The constant Soviet push for a Second Front and the jockeying for post-war position were well-presented. I would have enjoyed more discussion on lend-lease and other direct aid to the Soviets and the impact that had when Soviet prospects were at their nadir. Also, being Canadian, I would have appreciated more comment on the extent to which the cataclysmic Dieppe raid was linked to diplomatic trade-offs around a Second Front.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!