The Gulag Archipelago

Very interesting reading

Excellent book, packed full of information about the Russian revolution, Stalin,Lenin and the Gulags. Everyone needs to know this number information, yet so few do. I also have the audiobook. The narrator has a very strong British accent. I had a hard time understanding him. But I watched some British TV on Amazon Prime. I went back to listening to the book and was able to understand it with ease.

This book gives an in-depth accounting of the varied authorities practices and methods of selection for incarceration. The English version is somewhat a challenge to follow however clearly hits the mark. I personally did not realize that loyalties to the government of a previous time, dedicated military service, return to the Soviet Union from legitimate travel , religion beliefs, speech, could and would result in arrest.

Great to read. A thorough commentary on the Soviet society. A cautionary tale too. If it happened there it can happen here. An analysis of how far the human mind can rationalize inhumanity.

Great book

I was brought here by Jordan Peterson and am embarrassed to say I hadn't heard about these volumes of work before. Shockingly (or maybe not so shockingly) the education system failed to mention this, even though I was in private school. That being said, I've felt the need since around March to delve deeper into what we are looking at in the USA - defined by what can only be called a hybrid mix of cultural marxism, communism, post-modernism, and Maoism. It is my belief that we are facing an existential threat to our country.This book is a horrifying and haunting tale of what could be on deck if Americans don't stand up now. I encourage anyone to read it just to get a small taste of what went on in the Soviet Union, and to understand truly what communism is and what it does/has done to people, but I think it is especially pertinent to the USA as we face down a pseudo maoist cultural revolution that China saw in the 1960s. Between this and the words of the infamous KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov, I would say the USA is well into the second 'destabilization' phase and has even entered into the third phase of 'crisis.' I truly would advise people to read these books as a warning, and to take Alexander Solzhenitsyn's words seriously as we face the rest of 2020 and beyond:"I would like to call upon America to be more careful with its trust and prevent those wise persons who are attempting to establish even finer degrees of justice and even finer legal shades of equality - some because of their distorted outlook, others because of short-sightedness and still others out of self-interest - from falsely using the struggle for peace and for social justice to lead you down a false road. Because they are trying to weaken you; they are trying to disarm your strong and magnificent country in the face of this fearful threat - one which has never been seen before in the history of the world."