Volume 1 of the gripping epic masterpiece, Solzhenitsyn's chilling report of his arrest and interrogation, which exposed to the world the vast bureaucracy of secret police that haunted Soviet society
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“Best Nonfiction Book of the Twentieth Century” (Time magazine )
About the Author
After serving as a decorated captain in the Soviet Army during World War II, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was sentenced to prison for eight years for criticizing Stalin and the Soviet government in private letters. Solzhenitsyn vaulted from unknown schoolteacher to internationally famous writer in 1962 with the publication of his novella One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. The writer's increasingly vocal opposition to the regime resulted in another arrest, a charge of treason, and expulsion from the USSR in 1974, the year The Gulag Archipelago, his epic history of the Soviet prison system, first appeared in the West. For eighteen years, he and his family lived in Vermont. In 1994 he returned to Russia. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died at his home in Moscow in 2008.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The line between good and evil runs through the heart of every human being."
This abridged edition of Solzhenitsyn's hauntingly intimate portrait of his own arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, rebellion, and eventual release during Stalin's purges is a book like no other. This book, written by a constantly watched and persecuted dissident - bent but not broken by the brutality of Stalinist work camps, shares the author's (and his other inmates') personal experiences falling into this dark, usually fatal, abyss. Solzhenitsyn's original work was published in 1971 and produced an absolutely damning indictment of communism in Russia. Indeed, the stunning quality and importance of his writing earned him a Nobel prize.
Besides his own experiences, Solzhenitsyn collected personal stories from hundreds of his fellow inmates. The sadism of interrogators, the cruelty of guards, the indifference of neighbors, the paranoia of the public, the betrayal of stoolies, and the true comradery of innocent inmates are presented in vivid, factual detail. In addition to this, the author also presents an encyclopeadic knowledge of the entirety of the gigantic Stalinist security apparatus (normal labor camps, special labor camps, transfer camps, railroad transfers, prisons, holding cells, interrogation cells, NKVD, SMERSH, commissars, exile communities, and still more).
But at the heart of it all, the book remains an unforgettable journey through man-made hell. Stalin meant to destroy every man, woman, and child arrested, regardless of their innocence, and he largely succeeded. But survivors like Solzhenitsyn did truly 'tear down the wall' and made this world a far better place to live in. We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude!
This abridged edition of Solzhenitsyn's hauntingly intimate portrait of his own arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, rebellion, and eventual release during Stalin's purges is a book like no other. This book, written by a constantly watched and persecuted dissident - bent but not broken by the brutality of Stalinist work camps, shares the author's (and his other inmates') personal experiences falling into this dark, usually fatal, abyss. Solzhenitsyn's original work was published in 1971 and produced an absolutely damning indictment of communism in Russia. Indeed, the stunning quality and importance of his writing earned him a Nobel prize.
Besides his own experiences, Solzhenitsyn collected personal stories from hundreds of his fellow inmates. The sadism of interrogators, the cruelty of guards, the indifference of neighbors, the paranoia of the public, the betrayal of stoolies, and the true comradery of innocent inmates are presented in vivid, factual detail. In addition to this, the author also presents an encyclopeadic knowledge of the entirety of the gigantic Stalinist security apparatus (normal labor camps, special labor camps, transfer camps, railroad transfers, prisons, holding cells, interrogation cells, NKVD, SMERSH, commissars, exile communities, and still more).
But at the heart of it all, the book remains an unforgettable journey through man-made hell. Stalin meant to destroy every man, woman, and child arrested, regardless of their innocence, and he largely succeeded. But survivors like Solzhenitsyn did truly 'tear down the wall' and made this world a far better place to live in. We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude!
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
How thin is the veil we call Civilization!! This book is indeed a tedious read by virtue of its length. However, Solzhenitsyn's history is written with the prosaic style of a Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Captain in the Soviet Army as it charged through Nazi occupied Poland when he was arrested on trumped-up charges in February 1945. Thus began his odyssey through Gulag, "the country within a country". The perpetually weak economy of Communism could not survive without the forced labor of millions of is own citizens who became prisoners for one reason or another, or no reason at all. Solzhenitsyn relates his own experiences as well as those of other prisoners with whom he became acquainted while incarcerated. He relates how ordinary Russians were arrested and charged with fraudulent charges (if charged at all), interrogated, tortured and forced to confess under extreme duress, and sent off to labor for the good of the Motherland.
Throughout the book, Solzhenitsyn asks the reader incredulously, "how did we let this happen?" That is no doubt one of the most important questions posed in all of human history. If we study history in order to prevent the repetition of our mistakes, then Solzhenitsyn's work should be required reading of all residents of Planet Earth.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Captain in the Soviet Army as it charged through Nazi occupied Poland when he was arrested on trumped-up charges in February 1945. Thus began his odyssey through Gulag, "the country within a country". The perpetually weak economy of Communism could not survive without the forced labor of millions of is own citizens who became prisoners for one reason or another, or no reason at all. Solzhenitsyn relates his own experiences as well as those of other prisoners with whom he became acquainted while incarcerated. He relates how ordinary Russians were arrested and charged with fraudulent charges (if charged at all), interrogated, tortured and forced to confess under extreme duress, and sent off to labor for the good of the Motherland.
Throughout the book, Solzhenitsyn asks the reader incredulously, "how did we let this happen?" That is no doubt one of the most important questions posed in all of human history. If we study history in order to prevent the repetition of our mistakes, then Solzhenitsyn's work should be required reading of all residents of Planet Earth.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Biased but I know it and love it!
The author spent 10 years in one of these prison camps, this work is going to be biased. I have to admit that this book despite the bias that is inherent it is a great book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Runamuck
Solzhenitsyn - one of Russia's Greatest Heroes
I had always imagined Solzhenitsyn as some kind of fiery Biblical prophet, full of righteousness and rhetoric, hurling verbal thunderbolts at his enemies and damning them to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by John Fitzpatrick
Must Read for All Americans
This book is arguably the most important book of the 20th Century. I had put off reading it, but wish I had not. Read more
Published 5 months ago by W. Owens
1984... but real
This book is a must read for anyone interested in the world's history. This book is the first of three volumes (with the total work being split into 7 parts; Volume one contains... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Christian R. Unger
History repeats itself
The powers that be in the good old USA seem to have read this book and borrowed a few tricks from it. Read more
Published 12 months ago by bookie
Solid Recreation of Stalin's Gulags
Aleksander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) used these memorable pages to describe the Soviet Union's harsh gulags in the era of Stalin. Read more
Published 14 months ago by K.Goldberg
Painful to read
I am an avid reader, enjoy a diversity of books, and have encountered a handful of books in my life I could not bring myself to finish - unfortunately, Gulag was one of them. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Pet
Almost forgotten in America..
Consider this fact: Putin has just made this book required reading in Russian schools.
In American schools, nobody has ever heard of it, or seen it, or speaks of... Read more
In American schools, nobody has ever heard of it, or seen it, or speaks of... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Geoff Puterbaugh
GULAG ARCHIPELAGO: Read Volume III first
Reading Solzhenitsyn's GULAG ARCHIPELAGO can be a tough slog. For all its rewards, GULAG can be disjointed, repetitive and confusing. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Preston Fleming (Author of Forty Days at Kamas)
Excellent abridgment
I originally read the three-volume "Gulag" while in college and then later read this abridgment. This abridgment is very well done; it definitely captures the meat of what... Read more
Published on May 6, 2010 by a reader
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
How do people get to this clandestine Archipelago? Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
committed escaper, nonpolitical offenders, work assigner, former zeks, camp keepers, transit prison, convoy guards, corrective labor camps, latrine bucket, special settlers, punishment cell, exile system, prisoner transport, camp compound, supreme measure, service yard, convoy troops Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Special Camps, Soviet Union, Civil War, State Security, Criminal Code, Solovetsky Islands, Central Committee, World War, Red Army, October Revolution, Black Marias, Camp Divisions, Alexander Dolgun, February Revolution, Medical Section, Belomor Canal, Communist Party, Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Supreme Court, Comrade Stalin, United States, District Party Committee, East Prussia, Father of the Peoples, Fatherland War New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
How do people get to this clandestine Archipelago? Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
committed escaper, nonpolitical offenders, work assigner, former zeks, camp keepers, transit prison, convoy guards, corrective labor camps, latrine bucket, special settlers, punishment cell, exile system, prisoner transport, camp compound, supreme measure, service yard, convoy troops Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Special Camps, Soviet Union, Civil War, State Security, Criminal Code, Solovetsky Islands, Central Committee, World War, Red Army, October Revolution, Black Marias, Camp Divisions, Alexander Dolgun, February Revolution, Medical Section, Belomor Canal, Communist Party, Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Supreme Court, Comrade Stalin, United States, District Party Committee, East Prussia, Father of the Peoples, Fatherland War New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
100
books
cite this book:
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- Return from the Archipelago: Narratives of Gulag Survivors by Leona Toker on 30 pages
- Stalin's Slave Ships: Kolyma, the Gulag Fleet, and the Role of the West by Martin J. Bollinger on 7 pages
- Peasant Rebels Under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance by Lynne Viola on 5 pages
- The Return of King Arthur: Completing the Quest for Wholeness, Inner Strength, and Self-Knowledge by Diana Durham on 4 pages
- Communism and the Emergence of Democracy by Harald Wydra on 4 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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