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Alexandra Popoff

Goodreads Author

Born

Moscow, Russian Federation

Website

http://www.russianliteratureandbiography.com/

Twitter

@AlexandraPopoff

Genre

Biography, Nonfiction

Member Since

August 2010

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ALEXANDRA POPOFF is a former Moscow journalist and Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow. She is an expert on Russian cultural history and the author of five literary biographies, including the award-winning VASILY GROSSMAN (2019) and SOPHIA TOLSTOY (2010). Her book THE WIVES became a Wall Street Journal best non-fiction title for 2012. Popoff's latest book is a concise interpretive biography of AYN RAND ( Yale UP, Jewish Lives, 2024).

VASILY GROSSMAN AND THE SOVIET CENTURY won the 2019 Canadian Jewish Literary award for Biography, became a Finalist in the 2019 National Jewish Book Awards, Biography category, and was long-listed for the 2019 Cundill History Prize.

Popoff has written for The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, National Post, ...more

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Alexandra Popoff’s books

Average rating: 4.12 · 665 ratings · 125 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Vasily Grossman and the Soviet Century 4.33 avg rating — 200 ratings — published 2019 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography 4.16 avg rating — 203 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wives: The Women Behind Russia's Literary Giants 3.93 avg rating — 207 ratings — published 2012 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tolstoy's False Disciple 4.15 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ayn Rand: Writing a Gospel of Success 3.71 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2024 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wives really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	As esposas: As mulheres nos bastidores da vida e obra de prodígios da literatura russa 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Alexandra Popoff's Blog

My Response to Gary S. Morson's attack on Ayn Rand

This is my response to Gary Morson’s critique of my biography Ayn Rand: Writing a Gospel of Success. My letter appeared in the 2025 winter issue of Jewish Review of Books, under the title “Life and Capital”.

An amusing quote attributed to Reverend Sydney Smith and later appropriated by Oscar Wilde says: “I never read a book before reviewing it: it prejudices a man so.”

This fully applies to Gary Mor Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 24, 2025 12:16 • Tags: alexandra-popoff, atlas-shrugged, ayn-rand, gary-morson, goddess-of-the-market, jennifer-burns, jewish, writing-a-gospel-of-success

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Alexandra is Currently Reading

Alexandra Popoff is currently reading

Homelands: A Personal History of Europe

by Timothy Garton Ash

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Jul 13, 2026 07:59AM

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Alexandra Popoff is currently reading Homelands: A Personal History of Europe by Timothy Garton Ash	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 13, 2026 07:59AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Homelands by Timothy Garton Ash. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Homelands by Timothy Garton Ash <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff has read Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I remember taking delight in The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. But that was years ago. Whether I changed and lost an ability to read with full attention or whether some novels can't outlive their time -- I have to admit, I couldn't finish Doctor Fau ...more
Jul 13, 2026 07:59AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff rated a book it was amazing Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 21, 2026 06:37PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Postwar by Tony Judt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Postwar by Tony Judt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff finished reading Looking for Trouble by Virginia Cowles	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 20, 2026 07:59AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Looking for Trouble by Virginia Cowles. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Looking for Trouble by Virginia Cowles <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff is currently reading Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 10, 2026 05:47AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Postwar by Tony Judt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Postwar by Tony Judt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff rated a book it was amazing The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin by David Satter	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
“To grasp the reality of Russia,” writes David Satter, “it is necessary to accept that Russian leaders really are capable of blowing up hundreds of their own people to preserve their hold on power. They really are capable of ordering an attack with f ...more
Feb 09, 2026 06:36PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep by David Satter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep by David Satter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff rated a book it was amazing Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In Thinking the Twentieth Century two major historians, Tony Judt and Timothy Snyder, discuss European intellectual history and ideas. Snyder, who first met Judt as an undergraduate, approached him in 2008 proposing this collaborative project. By the ...more
Jan 31, 2026 12:42PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff is currently reading The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: Russia's Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin by David Satter	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 19, 2026 02:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep by David Satter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep by David Satter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff finished reading The Meaning of Hitler by Haffner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 28, 2025 05:32PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Meaning of Hitler by Haffner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Meaning of Hitler by Haffner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexandra Popoff is currently reading Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 22, 2025 09:39AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Thinking the Twentieth Century by Tony Judt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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