Enemies of the State: Personal Stories from the Gulag

By Agnieszka Critchlow

Book Overview

Excerpts from nine of the most widely read Gulag books. In addition to providing a ghastly record of Communist terror, the Critchlows also explain why Western readers developed such deep mistrust of "peaceful coexistence" with any Communist nation. "The Critchlows have rendered a signal service to scholarship by providing attention, access, and background to this historically important literature."-John Earl Haynes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566635217
• ISBN13: 9781566635219
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

The Collection of Personal Tales

This book fills the gap that the Gulag Series is missing...The Personal Views..Much of the books on the gulag are scholarly estimates and observations, without the first hand eyewitness to the events. This book is created from exceprts from little heard of books about the Gulag published throughout its history, from the Time of The Great purge up To the Time when cold war tensions were "Loosening Up", when in fact the same hard conditions persisted... The books writing quality as a whole is very good, the book is intresting and intriging to read, and also conveys deep details and vivid descriptions of the Gulag...Very much recommended to all readers.

FABULOUS BUT PAINFUL HISTORY

"Enemies of the State" provides a riveting look into the slave-labor prisons of the Communist world during several decades of the 20th century. It brings history alive to a whole new generation of Americans who may be only vaguely aware of the oppression, torture and viciousness imposed on their countrymen by totalitarian leaders like Stalin, Mao, and Castro. The book contains 10 first-person accounts by people who spent years wrongfully imprisoned in slave-labor camps. Very much like the first-person accounts of Jews held in German concentration camps during the Holocaust, "Enemies of the State" also includes historical background and explanations of the political themes of the times. The book is factual and compelling for anyone over the age of 12. It is a great resource for high school or college students, and teachers and college professors. The general public will also find this book to be fascinating reading, although it is not for anyone with a weak stomach. The tortures and degradations described in the book are beyond imagination, but they are real and are presented in painful and vivid detail. Anyone with a love of history, however, will find this book to be an important addition to their library. I highly recommend it for youths and adults, and I especially encourage home schoolers to consider including this book in their studies.