Enemies of the State: Personal Stories from the Gulag [Hardcover]

Donald T. Critchlow (Editor), Agnieszka Critchlow (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1566634563 | ISBN-13: 978-1566634564 | Publication Date: September 17, 2002

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

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Excerpted from 10 personal accounts of imprisonment in Communist gulags, this anthology represents the camp literature that galvanized American anti-Communist activists from the 1950s onward. This may seem a historical rather than a contemporary topic, yet the collection's inclusion of writings by people imprisoned in countries that still operate political gulags--China, Cuba, and Vietnam--merits consideration. The Critchlows preface each piece with a summary of its impact on anti-Communist opinion and its conviction that Communist regimes were inhumane, untrustworthy, and inimical to religion. The editors argue that Catholics, especially, were receptive to this material (Phyllis Schlafly became prominent championing Hungary's Cardinal Mindszenty). Indeed Christ-like suffering is the overt structure of two testaments by priests, one tortured in China, the other in Romania. Less religious anti-Communist sentiment will also find ample material for outrage at the physical and mental debasement intentionally inflicted on these prisoners. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

The Critchlows have rendered a signal service by providing attention, access, and background to this historically important literature. (Haynes, John Earl )

These accounts by largely forgotten figures [offer] a strength in the face of the inversion of truth and rationality that is incomprehensible. (Tim Marchman New York Sun )

This book provides shocking insight into the workings of communism and, therefore, into the Cold War itself. (Conservativenet )

These stories should not only be read for the lessons they can teach us about socialism. They should be read because they are great literature, human drama, and an inspiration to everyone who will ever face adversity. (Conservative Monitor )

The stories told and retold here...make for painful but necessary reading.... What they have to say we must never forget. (First Things )

The narratives collected...exemplify...the abuses of human rights in Communist states and act...as landmarks in...history... (The Russian Review )

Powerful and revealing information about the human costs of the attempted applications of Marxism-Leninism… (Paul Hollander Journal Of Cold War Studies )

These memoirs pose important questions about the monolithic character of communist ideology. (Karla Cruise Slavic and East European Journal )

Critchlow contributes greatly to our understanding of American politics in the last half of the twentieth century. (Jonathan J. Bean )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (September 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566634563
• ISBN-13: 978-1566634564
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,092,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS BUT PAINFUL HISTORY, September 26, 2002

By 

Karen R Winfield (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enemies of the State: Personal Stories from the Gulag (Hardcover)

"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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Collection of Personal Tales, June 4, 2005

By 

Materialist (New York State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enemies of the State: Personal Stories from the Gulag (Paperback)

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.