The Gulag Archipelago Volume 1: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (P.S.) (Paperback)

~ Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn (Author)

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"Best Nonfiction Book of the Twentieth Century" -- Time magazine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061253715
• ISBN-13: 978-0061253713
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #108,905 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #21 in	Books > History > Europe > Former Soviet Republics & Siberia
  #57 in	Books > Nonfiction > Crime & Criminals > Penology
  #82 in	Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Human Rights

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have read in years! A real eye-opener., May 22, 2008

By	John David Young (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For any who have any nostalgia for the Soviet Union, this book should put it to rest. This book is hard to categorize; it is more than one man's opinion, but less than an objective history. It is, as Solzhenitsyn puts it, "an experiment in literary investigation": a combination memoir and dissertation on the evils of Communism and its inevitable product, the forced labor camp. Some have criticized Solzhenitsyn as an anti-Communist/pro-Western polemicist, but that is not an accurate description. He is a realist, showing not only the faults of Communists, but also those of the West and Western leaders. This should be required reading for European and world history classes. Volume 1 (of 3) describes the arrest and interrogation procedures, as well as life in the Gulag.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Book Ever Written, August 30, 2008

By	Harvey P. Hodak (Pataskala, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have the full three volume set of the Gulag that I read years ago. It is the greatest book ever written. In portraying Communism, as he described as man's inhumanity to man, Solzhenitsyn has an exceptional ability while depicting the excessively cruel treatment of human beings in the Gulag to demonstrate his dignity and the dignity of those who suffered at the hands of their oppressors. The entire book is full of stories of the courage of human beings in the face of such evil. In that way, while depicting the horrible conditions of the Gulag, the book ultimately provides an uplifting message that peace and kindness are enduring human traits that can and do shine through despite overwhelming attempts to erase them. Never has there been a more courageous and humane writer.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aleksandr is The Great, August 31, 2007

By	Mary Ann Amato - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (P.S.) (Paperback)

This is vintage Solzhenitsyn; his brilliant mind shines forth splendidly. A book that is difficult to put down, places one inside his mind to see what he describes, so much from having spent hours memorizing while in the camps so he could later give us a glimpse of the horror that millions upon millions of human beings endured.