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Title: Wonderfully Written
Review: Lourie's "Autobiography" is an extremely well-written journey, albeit fictional, into Stalin's heart of darkness. It is compelling. This piece of fiction evokes the nature of the beast in ways that straightforward biographies (Volkogonov, etc.) sometimes do not. True, Volkognov's "Stalin" masterfully details the life of Stalin. However, Lourie's fiction, in my opinion, seems to have found that withered spot that passed for Koba's soul. It is no wonder that Lourie's preface reads "To whatever sprit possessed me to write this book, may it be gone forever now."
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