“ But to her, libraries were like hotels: secret villages inhabited by passing strangers from a thousand different worlds brought together just for a few hours. Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Power is always personal: any study of a Western democratic leader today reveals that, even in a transparent system with its short periods in office, personalities shape administrations. Democratic le… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ The murky world of terrorism is more relevant than ever today: terrorist organizations, whether Bolshevik at the beginning of the twentieth century or Jihadi at the start of the twenty-first, have muc… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Jerusalem has a way of disappointing in tormenting both conquerors and visitors. The contrast between the real and heavenly cities is so excruciating that a hundred patients a year are committed to th… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Lenin and Stalin created the idiosyncratic Soviet system in the image of their ruthless little circle of conspirators before the Revolution. Indeed much of the tragedy of Leninism-Stalinism is compreh… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ The formation of Stalin’s character is particularly important because the nature of his rule was so personal. Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Beneath the eerie calm of these unfathomable waters were deadly whirlpools of ambition, anger and unhappiness. Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Stalin was always exceptional, even from childhood. We have relied on Trotsky’s unrecognizably prejudiced portrait for too long. The truth was different. Trotsky’s view tells us more about his own van… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Greatness needs courage (above all) and willpower, charisma, intelligence and creativity but it also demands characteristics that we often associate with the least admirable people: reckless risk-taki… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ It seems that Russia today—dominated by, and accustomed to, autocracy and empire, and lacking strong civic institutions especially after the shattering of its society by the Bolshevik Terror—is destin… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Marx wrote that 'History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.' This was witty but far from true. History is never repeated, but it borrows, steals, echoes and commandeers the past to cre… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Very few politicians, who have chosen a political career, can fulfill the aspirations and survive the strains of an elevated office that in a monarchy was filled so randomly. Each tsar had to be simul… Simon Sebag Montefiore
“ Who is fit to be elected?' asked Napoleon. 'A Caesar, an Alexander only comes along once a century, so that election must be a matter of chance. Simon Sebag Montefiore
