Invisible Allies [Paperback]

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

In an intimate memoir that whispers with the intrigue of a spy novel, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn pays tribute to the once-anonymous heroes who risked their lives to bring The Gulag Archipelago and his other works to the West during the darkest days of the Soviet Union.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Their number grew to more than 100; they had code names such as the Queen, Dandelion, the Badger, these invisible allies who formed Solzhenitsyn's secret channel in the U.S.S.R. before he was expelled. They made copies of his manuscripts, microfilmed and helped hide them, distributed them through samizdat and performed other services. They were courageous, if not always cautious, as when Elizaveta Denisovna preserved a manuscript copy Solzhenitsyn wanted destroyed, was interrogated by the KGB, then either was killed or committed suicide. In The Oak and the Calf, Solzhenitsyn's 1980 memoir of his underground life, she was identified as Q. Now, without endangering lives, he reveals these allies. Prominent among them is Elena Chukovskaya, granddaughter of famed children's writer Kornie Chukovsky, who for the first part of this book is the unnamed half of the pair Solzhenitsyn refers to as "we." Then, in 1969, the inner circle expanded to include Natalya Svetlova, Alya, who would become Solzhenitsyn's wife (and whose former husband would join the brigade of invisible allies along with other such surprising folk as a nun in the French embassy in Moscow). This memoir was written at the same time as Oak; it formed the subplot of that book, but it is really the plot. The Solzhenitsyn met here is less bombastic than his reputation. He may describe himself as a "wilful old bear," but the streak of sentimentality running through these pages as he recreates the excruciating stresses of his conspiratorial life is humanizing. 30,000 first printing.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Solzhenitsyn's best-known works, including the Gulag Archipelago (LJ 8/74), were written in secret, circulated only as underground typescripts (samizdat), and eventually smuggled out of the Soviet Union for publication in the West. This current work details how all that occurred and thanks the more than 100 individuals who typed manuscripts, microfilmed them, stored copies, and transported them. Although it was written at the same time as the autobiographical Oak and the Calf (LJ 5/1/80), in 1974 at the beginning of Solzhenitsyn's exile in Switzerland (and later the United States), publication was delayed to protect those still in Russia (whose real names are used throughout) and those Western journalists and diplomats who helped carry material out of the country. The manuscript was not updated after 1974 to record how those people fared after Solzhenitsyn left the Soviet Union. The book will be of interest to specialized collections.?Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887178422
• ISBN-13: 978-1887178426
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,263,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)