{"product_id":"stalins-scribe-brian-j-boeck-9781643134796","title":"Stalin's Scribe: Literature, Ambition, and Survival: The Life of Mikhail Sholokhov","description":"\u003cp\u003eMikhail Sholokhov is arguably one of the most contentious recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature. As a young man, Sholokhov's epic novel, \u003cem\u003eQuiet Don\u003c\/em\u003e, became an unprecedented overnight success. \u003cem\u003eStalin's Scribe\u003c\/em\u003e is the first biography of a man who was once one of the Soviet Union's most prominent political figures. Thanks to the opening of Russia's archives, Brian Boeck discovers that Sholokhov's official Soviet biography is actually a tangled web of legends, half-truths, and contradictions. Boeck examines the complex connection between an author and a dictator, revealing how a Stalinist courtier became an ideological acrobat and consummate politician in order to stay in favor and remain relevant after the dictator's death.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eStalin's Scribe\u003c\/em\u003e is a remarkable biography that both reinforces and clashes with our understanding of the Soviet system. It reveals a Sholokhov who is bold, uncompromising, and sympathetic--and reconciles him with the vindictive and mean-spirited man described in so many accounts of late Soviet history. Shockingly, at the height of the terror, which claimed over a million lives, Sholokhov became a member of the most minuscule subset of the Soviet Union's population--the handful of individuals whom Stalin personally intervened to save.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Brian J. Boeck\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1643134795\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781643134796\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pegasus Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/07\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.32lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.91d","brand":"Brian J. Boeck","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44043159765247,"sku":"9781643134796","price":23.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5b429ca9-7a59-4a1b-b947-1b89b93c27f7.jpg?v=1684965586","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/stalins-scribe-brian-j-boeck-9781643134796","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}