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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
informative
sad
Very informative and timely right now for understanding what is happening between Russia and Ukraine. If anyone needed a wall, it is Ukraine.
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Irrational, delusional, insane, or outright evil leaders of Soviet Union have starved nearly 4 million people to death. Ukrainians tried to reason. Tried to work it through. Tried to fight it. And, in the end, were left with apathy to die on the sides of the roads, walking in search, or at home, too weak to even try, to die of starvation. This book is a nightmare that has happened.
My Opinion: Anne Applebaum is really good at this, the book is precise, extremely well put together into one, coherent item. But the topic is suffocating. It’s extreme, it’s horrible. And the fact it was almost swept under the rug should be considered a criminal act. So, please, if your constitution allows, read it. Know it. And don’t ever forget it. We, humanity as a whole, NEED to start being better people.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Irrational, delusional, insane, or outright evil leaders of Soviet Union have starved nearly 4 million people to death. Ukrainians tried to reason. Tried to work it through. Tried to fight it. And, in the end, were left with apathy to die on the sides of the roads, walking in search, or at home, too weak to even try, to die of starvation. This book is a nightmare that has happened.
My Opinion: Anne Applebaum is really good at this, the book is precise, extremely well put together into one, coherent item. But the topic is suffocating. It’s extreme, it’s horrible. And the fact it was almost swept under the rug should be considered a criminal act. So, please, if your constitution allows, read it. Know it. And don’t ever forget it. We, humanity as a whole, NEED to start being better people.
After watching one of the best shows of all time The Americans, I have a newfound appreciation for this book. I originally wanted to read this because I’m interested in Russian Jewish history, but now I can visualize it (at least the Soviet point of view) thanks to Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.
I wish this book existed when I was in high school when we were learning about communism. All we learned was that Stalin was a communist and that was bad. I really don’t recall learning much more than that. After reading this,
nowwwwww I understand why the Red Scare was a thing in the US and why people didn’t and don’t like communism. We learned about Hitler, of course, and all the history of his life, his decisions, and his beliefs, but now, learning about Stalin...holy crap!
What an fascinating guy. So evil. There are some things he did, like manipulate the media, demonize “others”, that makes me wonder if our current president isn’t trying to emulate.
Ch. 13 was the most straightforward chapter to read. I think it’s because it had the least amount of Russian words, names, and phrases. Or maybe I just was numb to them by that point. Russian nouns are exhausting.
Because of this book, I have a deeper appreciation for “old country” Jews and stories I’ve heard about my grandparent’s generation starving and living with nothing. It’s one thing to hear family lore and another thing to read it in context of the government of the time and what was going on in the bigger picture. Wtf! The Holodomor is a major human rights catastrophe and we should learn about it in high school. We sure didn’t and it’s a shame. I’m so glad I’ve learned it now!
Fun fact: did you know the term “blacklist” came from Stalin??
I wish this book existed when I was in high school when we were learning about communism. All we learned was that Stalin was a communist and that was bad. I really don’t recall learning much more than that. After reading this,
nowwwwww I understand why the Red Scare was a thing in the US and why people didn’t and don’t like communism. We learned about Hitler, of course, and all the history of his life, his decisions, and his beliefs, but now, learning about Stalin...holy crap!
What an fascinating guy. So evil. There are some things he did, like manipulate the media, demonize “others”, that makes me wonder if our current president isn’t trying to emulate.
Ch. 13 was the most straightforward chapter to read. I think it’s because it had the least amount of Russian words, names, and phrases. Or maybe I just was numb to them by that point. Russian nouns are exhausting.
Because of this book, I have a deeper appreciation for “old country” Jews and stories I’ve heard about my grandparent’s generation starving and living with nothing. It’s one thing to hear family lore and another thing to read it in context of the government of the time and what was going on in the bigger picture. Wtf! The Holodomor is a major human rights catastrophe and we should learn about it in high school. We sure didn’t and it’s a shame. I’m so glad I’ve learned it now!
Fun fact: did you know the term “blacklist” came from Stalin??
This book was bonkers. Lots of grossout details of what starving people will do for food. Eat spoiled entrails, eat their roof, eat their kids, etc.
Is it possible to rate such a comprehensive account of an extraordinary event in world history anything less than 5 stars, surely not.
“Many reviewers expressed astonishment that they knew so little about such a deadly tragedy”
I put my hand up; I was one of those people. Stalin, USSR, communism….. These were all words I knew about, thought I understood to some extent, but wow, my eyes have been opened. Thank you.
I must admit that early on in the book I thought I had bitten off more than I can chew. Other than my last few books, it had been years since reading a non-fiction book and never have I read a historical non-fiction book. So when the build-up of events started I was not sure I would be able to make it through, but that feeling didn’t last too long, thankfully.
“Starvation was the result, rather, of the forcible removal of food from people’s homes; the roadblocks that prevented peasants from seeking work or food; the harsh rules of the blacklists imposed on farms and villages; the restrictions on barter and trade; and the vicious propaganda campaign designed the persuade Ukrainians to watch, unmoved, as their neighbours died of hunger”.
Wow was the world a cruel place back then, the magnitude of cruelty that human beings can impose on other human beings is sickening to say the least. Reading these events I actually can’t help but draw some parallels (in a much smaller quantities of course) of the mind set of some leaders in African countries. Thankfully the rest of the world won’t turn a blind eye, and thankfully the condemned have a lot more options. I just wish these so called leaders could learn something from History.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for a review copy.
“Many reviewers expressed astonishment that they knew so little about such a deadly tragedy”
I put my hand up; I was one of those people. Stalin, USSR, communism….. These were all words I knew about, thought I understood to some extent, but wow, my eyes have been opened. Thank you.
I must admit that early on in the book I thought I had bitten off more than I can chew. Other than my last few books, it had been years since reading a non-fiction book and never have I read a historical non-fiction book. So when the build-up of events started I was not sure I would be able to make it through, but that feeling didn’t last too long, thankfully.
“Starvation was the result, rather, of the forcible removal of food from people’s homes; the roadblocks that prevented peasants from seeking work or food; the harsh rules of the blacklists imposed on farms and villages; the restrictions on barter and trade; and the vicious propaganda campaign designed the persuade Ukrainians to watch, unmoved, as their neighbours died of hunger”.
Wow was the world a cruel place back then, the magnitude of cruelty that human beings can impose on other human beings is sickening to say the least. Reading these events I actually can’t help but draw some parallels (in a much smaller quantities of course) of the mind set of some leaders in African countries. Thankfully the rest of the world won’t turn a blind eye, and thankfully the condemned have a lot more options. I just wish these so called leaders could learn something from History.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for a review copy.