Biography · Similar reads
Books like Lenin
The best books like Lenin are Gulag: A History, The Origins of Totalitarianism, and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Lenin by Victor Sebestyen is about revolution, power, political ideology. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Gulag: A History
01
Anne Applebaum · History
Anne Applebaum's Gulag is the first comprehensive English-language history of the Soviet forced labor camp system, drawing on KGB archives opened briefly after 1991, survivor memoirs, and interviews with former prisoners and guards.
A kindred biography read.
Read the summary → - The Origins of Totalitarianism
02
The Origins of Totalitarianism
Hannah Arendt · History
Hannah Arendt published The Origins of Totalitarianism in 1951, just six years after the end of World War II.
A kindred biography read.
Read the summary → - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
03
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
William L. Shirer · History
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is William Shirer's comprehensive account of Nazi Germany from the early career of Adolf Hitler through the defeat of the Reich in 1945.
A kindred biography read.
Read the summary → - Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
04
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
Simon Schama · History
Simon Schama's Citizens was published to mark the bicentennial of the French Revolution in 1989 and immediately became one of the most controversial histories of the event in decades.
Both dig into revolution.
Read the summary → - Washington: A Life
05
Ron Chernow · Biography
Ron Chernow's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of George Washington is the most comprehensive single-volume life of the first president, tracing his formation as a Virginia planter, his military career in the French and Indian War and the Revolution, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his eight years as the first executive of an untested republic.
Shares revolution and leadership with Lenin.
Read the summary → - Homage to Catalonia
06
George Orwell · Memoir
Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's firsthand account of fighting in the Spanish Civil War, which he joined in late 1936 as a volunteer with the POUM militia — a Trotskyist revolutionary organization that was later suppressed by the Soviet-backed Stalinist wing of the Republican forces.
Shares revolution and political ideology with Lenin.
Read the summary → - The Black Jacobins
07
C.L.R. James · History
The Black Jacobins is C.L.R.
Shares revolution and leadership with Lenin.
Read the summary → - The Prince
08
Niccolò Machiavelli · Philosophy
The Prince is Machiavelli's short treatise on how to acquire, hold, and exercise political power.
Shares power and leadership with Lenin.
Read the summary → - Steve Jobs
09
Walter Isaacson · Biography
Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was authorized by Jobs himself, who gave Isaacson more than forty hours of interviews and opened up his family, friends, and colleagues to the same scrutiny.
Both dig into leadership.
Read the summary → - Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
10
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Doris Kearns Goodwin · Biography
Doris Kearns Goodwin's account of Abraham Lincoln's formation of his cabinet — which included his three main rivals for the 1860 Republican nomination: William Seward, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates — is one of the most widely discussed leadership books of the twenty-first century and one of the most readable biographies of the Lincoln era.
Both dig into leadership.
Read the summary → - The Path to Power
- The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
12
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Robert A. Caro · Biography
Robert A.
Both dig into power.
Read the summary →
Books like Lenin: quick answers
What are the best books like Lenin?
The best books like Lenin by Victor Sebestyen are Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama, Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Lenin, such as revolution, power, political ideology.
What should I read after Lenin?
A natural next read after Lenin is Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum. A kindred biography read. Other strong choices are The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama.
What books are similar to Lenin by Victor Sebestyen?
Lenin centers on revolution, power, political ideology. Books with a similar feel include Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama, Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
