Books by Sheila Fitzpatrick
Sheila Fitzpatrick is Professor of History at the University of Sydney and Distinguished Service Professor Emerita of History at the University of Chicago. She is considered to be the founder of the field of Soviet history. She regularly contributes to the London Review of Books, and is the multi-award winning author of numerous titles, including Everyday Stalinism, On Stalin’s Team, The Russian Revolution, and the bestselling The Shortest History of the Soviet Union.
The Death of Stalin
by Sheila Fitzpatrick
The Death of Stalin is by Sheila Fitzpatrick, a pioneer of Soviet history. By homing in on one event, Fitzpatrick manages to pack in an enormous amount of information about the history of the Soviet Union, including how the US approached its Cold War opponent, in less than 100 pages—and that even includes photos. It probably helps to watch the darkly comic Armando Iannucci movie, The Death of Stalin, before reading it, though as Fitzpatrick writes, "not everything about Stalin's death is comic. It had serious implications for his country and the world in the twentieth century and beyond; this book sets out to unravel them."
The Shortest History of the Soviet Union
by Sheila Fitzpatrick
Australian historian and 20th century Russia specialist Sheila Fitzpatrick's The Shortest History of the Soviet Union covers its seven-decade, complex history in just 230 pages—with comfortable spacing and quite a few illustrations. It’s part of ‘The Shortest History of…’ series (which also has a highly recommended short history of China by Linda Jaivin).
Interviews with Sheila Fitzpatrick
The best books on The Soviet Union, recommended by Sheila Fitzpatrick
The Soviet Union was the world’s first communist country and lasted around seven decades. It played a key role in defeating Nazism in Europe and became a global superpower before collapsing unexpectedly in 1991. Sheila Fitzpatrick, a leading historian of the Soviet Union, recommends books that bring to life different aspects of it, from forced labour in Glavnoye Upravleniye LAGerey (GULAG) to the heady days of the Khrushchev thaw and including the memoir of Stalin’s beloved daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva.
Interviews where books by Sheila Fitzpatrick were recommended
The best books on The Soviet Union, recommended by Sheila Fitzpatrick
The Soviet Union was the world’s first communist country and lasted around seven decades. It played a key role in defeating Nazism in Europe and became a global superpower before collapsing unexpectedly in 1991. Sheila Fitzpatrick, a leading historian of the Soviet Union, recommends books that bring to life different aspects of it, from forced labour in Glavnoye Upravleniye LAGerey (GULAG) to the heady days of the Khrushchev thaw and including the memoir of Stalin’s beloved daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva.
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King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Unmaking of the Modern Middle East
by Scott Anderson -
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The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom
by David Woodman -
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The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century
by Tim Weiner -
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The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World
by Selena Wisnom -
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The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb
by Garrett Graff -
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The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life
by Sophia Rosenfeld
New History Books
New History Books
It’s a golden age for historical writing, as well-researched and sometimes quite specialist books by historians are written in an engaging style for a broad audience. History books out in recent months range from ancient Assyria to the CIA in the 21st century.
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Bombard the Headquarters! The Cultural Revolution in China
by Linda Jaivin -
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The Death of Stalin
by Sheila Fitzpatrick -
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Putin's Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia’s Collapse into Mercenary Chaos
by Candace Rondeaux -
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Shamanism: The Timeless Religion
by Manvir Singh -
5
Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History
by Vali Nasr
Notable Nonfiction Books of Mid-2025, recommended by Sophie Roell
Notable Nonfiction Books of Mid-2025, recommended by Sophie Roell
From the death of Stalin and the career of Putin’s chef to shaministic rituals on the Indonesian island of Siberut, Five Books editor Sophie Roell gives an overview of some of the excellent new nonfiction books that have appeared since April.
