miguelf's review against another edition
4.0
I had vague notions of mass starvation in early 20th century Russia, but the Russian Job puts into focus their first major incident of famine in the early 1920’s (not to be confused with the later actions a decade later centered mostly in Ukraine that is painstakingly detailed in Anne Applebaum’s Red Famine). What’s even less known is the US involvement in famine relief during the 20’s, which was largely led by Herbert Hoover prior to his presidential term later in the decade. It contains accounts of the Americans who went over to Russia and what they did and saw while there from the mundane (Yanks falling in love with Russian) to the heartbreaking (the accounts of the extent of the starvation).
edininny's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating, yet horrifying, part of history that I previously knew nothing about. The narrator, Natasha Soudek, did an excellent job of bringing the story to life.
michaelnlibrarian's review
3.0
In the early 1920s, after the Bolsheviks defeated the White forces in a civil war, parts of southern European Russia, Ukraine, and the Urals suffered significant crop failures that were compounded by carryover problems from the civil war and the preceding revolution along with World War I. The American Relief Organization, a quasi government organization led by Herbert Hoover that had been active elsewhere in Europe was able to organize relief efforts in Russia that saved millions of Russians from dying.
It's a remarkable history that as the author suggests isn't well known. The focus is on particular American individuals who worked for ARA who documented their time in letters and other documents that the author found in archives and elsewhere. It is a mostly chronological presentation of what happened that moves from place to place in telling what happened.
Hoover is not as much a part of the telling of the story as I expected, which is fine. The larger story of the relationship between the United States and the USSR during this time is a reoccurring theme - the US did not recognize the USSR until 1933 and it is perhaps surprising that the aid program did not help with establishing diplomatic relations before that.
At the end the author draws attention to the lack of awareness among Russians and even Americans that this help was given. I'm not sure it is that surprising - how many Europeans are aware of the extent of the Marshall Plan assistance after World War II at this point? Perhaps it is more noteworthy that the almost complete lack of awareness now was in part the result of official Soviet policy to erase this from Soviet history.
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374252960 includes a long excerpt from the book.
It's a remarkable history that as the author suggests isn't well known. The focus is on particular American individuals who worked for ARA who documented their time in letters and other documents that the author found in archives and elsewhere. It is a mostly chronological presentation of what happened that moves from place to place in telling what happened.
Hoover is not as much a part of the telling of the story as I expected, which is fine. The larger story of the relationship between the United States and the USSR during this time is a reoccurring theme - the US did not recognize the USSR until 1933 and it is perhaps surprising that the aid program did not help with establishing diplomatic relations before that.
At the end the author draws attention to the lack of awareness among Russians and even Americans that this help was given. I'm not sure it is that surprising - how many Europeans are aware of the extent of the Marshall Plan assistance after World War II at this point? Perhaps it is more noteworthy that the almost complete lack of awareness now was in part the result of official Soviet policy to erase this from Soviet history.
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374252960 includes a long excerpt from the book.
miguelf's review
4.0
I had vague notions of mass starvation in early 20th century Russia, but the Russian Job puts into focus their first major incident of famine in the early 1920’s (not to be confused with the later actions a decade later centered mostly in Ukraine that is painstakingly detailed in Anne Applebaum’s Red Famine). What’s even less known is the US involvement in famine relief during the 20’s, which was largely led by Herbert Hoover prior to his presidential term later in the decade. It contains accounts of the Americans who went over to Russia and what they did and saw while there from the mundane (Yanks falling in love with Russian) to the heartbreaking (the accounts of the extent of the starvation).
More...