James Burnham and the Struggle for the World: A Life

One of the fascinating secrets that emerged when Russia opened up the Party Central archives was the influential role of Inessa Armand, Lenin's paramour and confidante. Michael Pearson (The Sealed Train) draws on declassified documents, family papers and interviews with Armand's descendants to piece together Lenin's Mistress: The Life of Inessa Armand. Fluent in four languages, an accomplished pianist and mother of four by her wealthy Muscovite husband, Armand was jailed a number of times for her own revolutionary activities. Pearson focuses mostly on the postrevolutionary period, when Armand, close to both Lenin and his wife, was widely understood to be the most powerful woman in Moscow. (April)