Customer Reviews

The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin

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Every so often, a book comes along that no written review, no matter how carefully crafted, can really do justice to. This is one such book.

Hochschild's six month sojourn in 1991 through the remnants of the gulag archipelago is the mesmerizing tale of a once mighty nation still very much haunted by its past descent into madness. Interviewing both victims and perpetrators alike, Hochschild aptly conveys the great extent to which Soviet society still remains conflicted some 50 years after the terror of Stalin's Great Purge.

To his credit, Hochschild does more than simply chronicle the tyranny of Stalin's regime; he continually asks "why?". Why did a movement supposedly predicated on championing and elevating the common man turn so quickly on 20 million of its own people? Why would a regime exert so much time and effort prosecuting and persecuting persons it knew to be innocent? After all the unspeakable injustices perpetrated by Stalin, why would so many weep at his passing? Why do some victims of the regime readily embrace their former captors and tormentors as fellow casualties while others refuse to speak of their ordeals to this very day? A thought provoking narrative that admirably weaves together a complex tangle of emotions and issues.

If The Unquiet Ghost has a shortcoming, it is the author's tendency to occasionally interject his personal political beliefs into the narrative. While some political expressions perhaps have relevance, such as when Hochschild criticizes his liberal forebears who refused to see Stalin's Soviet Union for the brutal totalitarian dictatorship that it was, his off-hand commentary regarding political issues unique to the United States detracts from what it otherwise a fantastic book.

Hochschild examines the harsh reality of people living with the legacy of Stalinism. Russia is a country that rests on buried corpses, and as Hochschild relates, their ghosts are no longer silent. As Russians attempt to confront the past, many find it too painful to face the truth about their loved ones and even themselves. But for some, the deeply buried memories of the horror of Stalinism is surfacing. Hochschild causes the reader to ask "Would I have done any differently?" Hochschild's book is an important tool in helping understand the great problems that face the people of Russia today. His book causes the reader to ask if, indeed, there is a little Stalin in all of us

Hochschild writes an interesting account of life in Russia after the fall of Communism. He examines the scars of the Stalin years, and how contemporary Russian society is dealing with the past. The book takes the reader on a short tour of Russia, with Hochschild's visits to previously closed towns, ending in the Kolyma region, notorious for its labor camps. Throughout the book, Hochschild interviews Russians from all walks of life, former camp inmates and guards, doctors,workers, and former party members. While some long for the security offered in the Communist past, most await the prosperity of the free market economy. Almost all have difficulty dealing with the purges of the Stalin years, since many Russians lost family members as a result of arrest and detention. Hochschild does a commendable job of exposing the divisive nature of the purges, and how the society is having a difficult time placing responsibility, especially in the face of new information coming from formerly closed government sources almost daily. Hochschild's book is a must read if one is to fully understand the Russian people, as they search for their place in the community of nations

Hochschild is obviously a talented writer, and he does a great job of tackling a very difficult subject. However, often as he was drawing me in, he would throw in an anti-American non-sequitor, like comparing the people in the Gulag to the homeless in America. Huh? I'm not without compassion, but that is comparing one man's cut finger to another man's cut from the guillotine. Hochschild would be well served to leave his alternative agenda out of this book and focus on the subject at hand. The victims of the Gulag deserve nothing less.

However, if you can ignore these occasional comments which are out of place and inappropriate, The Unquiet Ghost is a solid effort which worth reading.

I guess for us in the West, the fall of the Communist regime in Russia was the end of an era, which simply meant that the Cold War was over and there was no more Soviet Union--and not much more. But for the people of Russia, who struggled to survive through all the irrationalities, terror, and oppression, the memories of life under Communism cannot be forgotten. This book is about some of those Russians who are, in varying ways, trying to come to terms with the past, and the stories are truly remarkable. Hochschild is an excellent writer, and anyone who has an interest in post-Communist Russia will find this book very informative.

I finished reading this book a couple of weeks ago. It was one of the best books I've come across on Soviet, and especially Stalin era, history. The author Adam Hochschild, a well known American journalist, traveled to Russia in 1991 and collected stories from survivors of the Gulag during the great purge of the 1930s. He also met with KGB agents and was shown the archives and individual documents of some of the Gulag victims including two Americans who were shot in Moscow in 1937. The author shows a vast knowledge of the intricate history of the Soviet Union and tries to analyze its zeitgeist during the 1930s and 1940s. He also tries to delve deeper in the Russian people psyche and figure out why some of the victims actually wept when Stalin died. I find this point particularly interesting. He also visited some Siberian cities and labor camps including the notorious Kolyma in the Russian far east.

When I reviewed Mr. Hochschild's ealier book King Leopold's Ghost I found it wonderfully researched and written, and I couldn't put it down, nor could I foret it. I believe he has done it again. There are many reviewers here who have done a terrific job of describing this book in detail.However,what I find fascinating about Mr. Hochschild's writing is his ability to, in the main, allow the reader to make his own judgments about these horrifying subjects. I appreciate that opportunity- too many writers bludgeon us with their own judgments and moralizing.

hochchild writes his novels as you were there with him. He writes with such passion. You can feel and hear him thinking as he traveled thru Russia and Siberia. The interviews with russians was very informative. His writing flows from beginning to end . A true story teller.. loved the book.

This is a very important subject that Hochschild writes about with an engaging clarity and objectivity. He eloquently generalizes his observations on Russian attempts to confront its Stalinist history to remarks about human nature in general. His searing criticism of Western leaders who toured the Soviet Union during Stalin's time and found all to be well is made all the more credible given Hochschild's own liberal background. Indeed, excluding the occasional, regrettably subjective references to American politics, the reader would be hard pressed to guess Hochschild's political orientation.

An important book relevant not just to Russian history but also to understanding the dark potential of human nature.

Every once in a while, you read a book that teaches you so much. This is such a book. I learned so much about Stalin and life in Russia under Stalin. Also you see how Stalin effects life in Russia to this day. This is a great book!