A review by leevoncarbon
Red Plenty: Inside the Fifties' Soviet Dream by Francis Spufford

4.0

I can still recall a time in the early 1960s when I became aware of the world beyond the little town where I lived. I became fascinated with geography and with learning the names of capitals and residents of far away countries. The growing perception of a Soviet threat was part of my earliest understanding of things. The Cuban missile crisis when I was eleven years old is a vivid memory. So when I read positive reviews of this book about Russian in the late 1950s through 1970, I immediately obtained a copy. Enjoyed every bit of it. His approach to the subject works well - not a novel, not a history, not an historical novel - more like a collection of short stories based on historical records. By personalizing the events in this way, you get a better feel for the initial optimism and swagger in the Khrushchev era along with the constant dissonance between the promise of Communist Party and the realities of daily life.