Dave Marsland’s Reviews > Gulag: A History > Status Update

Well, Dave, I do admit to an obsession regarding the Gulag. This one is sitting on my shelf - you have inspired me to get it into my hands mid-May!

I've been humming and harring about this one for a while and decided this is the time. I've only read the (long) introduction, but it's very good so far. I hope you get to it in May, Ann.

I've read three of Applebaum's excellent books and this one is on my to-read list.

Which three have read, Casey?

Dave wrote: "Which three have read, Casey?"

Thanks for asking, Dave. I've read "Autocracy, Inc." (2024), "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism" (2020), and "Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine" (2017 -- before the current war). All five-star books. My wanna-read books are Gulag and Iron Curtain, and will probably be more. Her video interviews are good, too.

In 1979, in the midst of the Cold War, I joined a two-week tour of the Soviet Union that included five cities in five provinces, including Kyiv. This was one year before the Soviets' war in Afghanistan began and seven years before Chernobyl. This memorable trip heightened my interest in the region, especially in the people's experiences during the government's fall in ~1990.

Also recommended, anything by Svetlana Alexievich and Masha Gessen.

Thanks for sharing that, Casey. Your tour in 1979 sounds amazing. I will check out the authors you recommended.