The Pulitzer Prize finalist author of Uncivil Society presents a history of the world during the build-up to World War II from the vantage point of Joseph Stalin's sea of power, exploring how in the aftermath of achieving dictatorial power over the Soviet Empire, Stalin formally ordered the systematic collectivization of the world's largest peasant economy

Introduction -- Poetry -- Letter -- Encyclopaedia -- Commentary -- Biography -- Conclusion -- Arithmetical epigrams from book 14 of the Greek anthology -- Eratosthenes' letter to King Ptolemy.