When Mikhail Sholokhov won the 1965 Nobel Prize for Literature, it didn't permanently establish his fame, it reawakened decades of suspicion and criticism. As a young man, Sholokhov's epic novel, And Quiet Flows the Don, became an unprecedented overnight success. But was he even the true author of the book? And did he owe his success to Stalin? Thanks to the opening of Russia's archives, Brian Boeck uncovers Sholokhov's half-truths and contradictions, and in this "provocative and sympathetic" biography (Washington Post), he reveals how a bold artist became a consummate politician in order to remain relevant after the dictator's death.