The Stalin Affair cover art

The Stalin Affair

The Impossible Alliance that Won the War

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Stalin Affair

By: Giles Milton
Narrated by: Giles Milton
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

 A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Hugely enjoyable' The Spectator

'Delivered with flamboyance, it features a sparkling cast of chancers' KATJA HOYER, Daily Telegraph 5* review

'Page-turning . . . a sizzling high-stakes tale' JAMES HOLLAND

'This book might read like the screenplay of a gripping movie, yet every word is accurate and verified' ANDREW ROBERTS

'Giles Milton is a phenomenon' DAN SNOW

'Another rollercoaster ride from Giles Milton. Endlessly surprising' ANTHONY HOROWITZ

From internationally bestselling historian Giles Milton comes the remarkable true story of the Allies' secret mission to wartime Moscow.

In the summer of 1941, as Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin's forces faced a catastrophic defeat which would make the Allies' liberation of Europe virtually impossible. To avert this disaster, Britain and America mobilized an elite team of remarkable diplomats with the mission of keeping the Red Army in the war.

Into the heart of Stalin's Moscow Roosevelt sent Averell Harriman, the fourth richest man in America and his brilliant young daughter Kathy. Churchill dispatched the reckless but inventive bon vivant Archie Clark Kerr - and occasionally himself - to negotiate with the Kremlin's wiliest operators. Together, this improbable group grappled with the ingenious, mercurial Stalin to make victory possible. But they also discovered that the Soviet dictator had a terrifying masterplan for the post-war world.

Based on astonishing unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the most unlikely coalition in history.©2024 Giles Milton (P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Eastern Europe Military Soviet Union Stalin War Russia Imperialism Winston Churchill Roosevelt Family Red Army
All stars
Most relevant
Great insight behind one of history’s amazing periods, well worth a read or listen five stars from this great history writer.

Up to Giles usual standard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have mixed feelings about this fascinating account of key protagonists in the conduct of the Second World War. I guess we all knew (except those in denial) just how duplicitous Stalin was and how duped the allied leaders were but Milton spells it out in graphic detail. I had no idea how influential Avril Harriman and Archy Clerk Kerr were during those unstable and critical times. I was very impressed by the narration of the author who presumably is not a noted actor. My only reservation is the amount of detail provided by Avril's daughter, Kathy. Do we really want to know what she thinks of the allied leaders and Stalin or what she thought of the meals they had? I guess her letters home have the benefit of being recently discovered and therefore providing a fresh insight. Others may find the reflections of this apparently naive rich kid charming, but I could have done with much less of her bubbly enthusiasm.

How the War was Won and the Peace was lost

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a page turner! Like his protagonists, Milton understands and defly explains the big picture of WW2, and describes how the actions and calculations of extraordinary human beings led to the end of WW2 and shaping of the post war order (and disorder) still with us today. Major events are vividly described in context from the letters and diaries. Astonishing to to think of Churchill's and Harrimann's daughters present at so many events and popping upstairs to record and report them before bed. Very well read by the author.

Highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.