Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore -- Alfred A Knopf, copyright 2007--this book deals with Stalin from birth in 1878 through the Russian Revolution in 1917- Early in life he attended a seminary, was a romantic poet, but by the time he reached his 20s, he became a fanatical revolutionary.  Mastermind of bank robbery, protection rackets, arson, piracy and murder, he was equal parts terrorist, intellectual, and brigand.  He would have many love affairs with women from every social stratum and age group, also his illegitimate children and his complicated relationship with the Tsarist  secret police.  How the paranoid criminal underworld was Stalin's natural habitat, and how murderous Caucasian banditry and political gangsterism, combined with pitiless ideology, enabled Stalin to dominate the Kremlin---and create the USSR in his flawed image.---460 pages, with index, notes, bibliography and 32 pages of photos, with 3 maps ---hardcover book in very good condition, dj has small tear, --stated book club edition --buyer to pay 5.00  s&h