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The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
by: Orlando Figes
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Third Party Price (New): £14.81
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Average Rating: 
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| Customer Reviews |
Rating:  - An Insightful Historical Document
In this book, Figes has diluted and refined his mastery of the art of weaving historical sources together. These family narratives which, without this book, would certainly have been lost, provide a compelling insight into the reality of Soviet Russia - the 'historical' backdrop of dates and movements takes a back seat to the gritty honesty of real people's testimony of what living through this era was actually like.
A fantastic read.
Rating: - A necessary book
This is a really first-rate book. Like no other book before, it lets the reader feel what it was like to live through the Stalin years. Based on interviews and family archives, which Figes has collected from homes across Russia, it is made up of small stories, which are beautifully woven into a tapestry of Soviet life. Some of the stories are harrowing, at times I found it hard to keep reading, but there are also tales of extraordinary courage and resilience that give the book a moral lift.
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Rating:  - The Whisperers
"The Whisperers" performs the valuable historical task of collating and reporting what it was like to live in Soviet Russia under the constant threat of being sent to a labour camp or summarily executed. In selecting what to report the author imposed the constraint of using only oral testimony which was supported by documentary testimony (family photographs, private letters, official records, etc.). To ensure accuracy the draft of the text in English was translated into Russian to get the observations ... Read More
Rating: - A fine history lacking the narrative impact of Figes's earlier work
The Whisperers is Orlando Figes's moving book recounting the private lives of Soviet citizens living under Stalin's tyranny. It is a fine book, impeccably and widely researched and stands up well both as an academic work and as a relatively accessible history. Figes's achievements in this wide ranging bok are many, but the most telling thing I learned from reading The Whisperers was the sense of shame that the families of those persecuted by Stalin suffered even decades later.
While this is ... Read More
Rating:  - WHISPERING IN PARADISE
WHISPERING IN PARADISE
By IAIN FRASER GRIGOR
POPULAR HISTORIES in English about Stalin's Russia are on a roll and easily-read titles seem to tumble from their authors every few months. One of the most reliably prolific of these writers is Orlando Figes, professor of history at Birkbeck College, University of London, who - though barely 50 - already has his name on three major contributions to the genre.
Figes' cultural history of Russia, Natasha's Dance (the title ... Read More
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Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780713997026
ISBN: 0713997028
Label: Allen Lane
Manufacturer: Allen Lane
Number Of Pages: 740
Publication Date: October 04, 2007
Publisher: Allen Lane
Sales Rank: 15797
Studio: Allen Lane
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