Gulag: A History
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • This magisterial and acclaimed history offers the first fully documented portrait of the Gulag, from its origins in the Russian Revolution, through its expansion under Stalin, to its collapse in the era of glasnost.
“A tragic testimony to how evil ideologically inspired dictatorships can be.” —The New York Times
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century
The Gulag—a vast array of Soviet concentration camps that held millions of political and criminal prisoners—was a system of repression and punishment that terrorized the entire society, embodying the worst tendencies of Soviet communism. Applebaum intimately re-creates what life was like in the camps and links them to the larger history of the Soviet Union. Immediately recognized as a landmark and long-overdue work of scholarship, Gulag is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand the history of the twentieth century.
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Community Reviews
PART ONE: THE ORIGINS OF THE GULAG, 1917-1939
1: Bolshevik Beginnings, 3
8/10
Very strong intro. The chapter sells the book and presents the author as a critical voice on the matter. I was worried about her maybe being a bit pro Soviet and far-left regimes as can be the tendency among The Washington Post editors. But it sounds like she is critical enough of Gulags to not go into defense mode overall.
2: “The First Camp of the Gulag,” 18
8/10
A bit confusing I must say. Quite a few different countries and areas are mentioned, yet we don't learn too much about any of the specific pre-Gulag camps all over the world.
3: 1929: The Great Turning Point, 41
7/10
Chapters 3 to 5 are just basic history chapters with not much there but info, but lots of small stories that I'm not great at remembering.
4: The White Sea Canal, 58
5: The Camps Expand, 73
6: The Great Terror and Its Aftermath, 92
PART TWO: LIFE AND WORK IN THE CAMPS
7: Arrest, 121
8: Prison, 146
9: Transport, Arrival, Selection, 159
10: Life in the Camps, 183
11: Work in the Camps, 216
12: Punishment and Reward, 242
9/10
Especially good chapter. But unfortunately all the chapters are largely similar and similar in quality so I can't really review them individually. But all chapters are good though! The book is just a bit weird in a way because it's not structured by years or camps, but rather by loose topics. So the chapters feel similar and that's both a good and bad thing. The writing is so amazing that you'll enjoy it no matter what.
13: The Guards, 256
14: The Prisoners, 280
15: Women and Children, 307
16: The Dying, 334
17: Strategies of Survival, 344
18: Rebellion and Escape, 390
PART THREE: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CAMP-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, 1940-1986
19: The War Begins, 411
20: “Strangers,” 420
21: Amnesty—and Afterward, 445
22: The Zenith of the Camp-Industrial Complex, 460
23: The Death of Stalin, 476
24: The Zeks’ Revolution, 484
25: Thaw—and Release, 506
26: The Era of the Dissidents, 527
27: The 1980s: Smashing Statues, 552
Conclusion:
Good book! This time around I went away from reviewing single chapters because the book is basically a collection of points and stories. The chapters are all at a similar level and the audiobook didn’t even clearly divide them in a forceful matter. Another reason I didn’t review chapters is because the book is very descriptive and large systems, ideas and patterns will have very simplified descriptions. So instead of just focusing on facts and stories from single times, areas or camps the author will often describe overall feelings and concepts and how she understands them. This makes the book an overall description of Gulag camps. You can read any chapter and learn basically the same stuff you find in any other chapter. It makes the book very, very long and all chapters drag out. It’s still amazing writing, and some very cool stories and I actually agree with most of her analyses. The book is not too long, it’s just very verbal and detailed. But you have to wonder why she chose this type of writing instead of removing 200 pages from the book by just focusing on the stories alone.
At any rate this is a top-tier history book with top-tier writing. But it’s so long that many readers will likely skip it. You also feel that it’s a bit feely/plain in the analysis. It’s all objective and correct enough it just doesn’t really mean much when the author for example states that prisoners overall may have felt a certain way. I would get that they felt that way if I read stories about it and their own words. While her words are not really selling me on the concepts. It’s hard to feel how the camps felt when she’s just explaining overall things. Unfortunately her extreme focus on being the second hand account makes the book less emotional and less focused. But it’s still very good if you just have the time and focus to spend on it. I think most readers would like a shorter book just focused on stories alone. But you’ll have a hard time finding something on this level.
1: Bolshevik Beginnings, 3
8/10
Very strong intro. The chapter sells the book and presents the author as a critical voice on the matter. I was worried about her maybe being a bit pro Soviet and far-left regimes as can be the tendency among The Washington Post editors. But it sounds like she is critical enough of Gulags to not go into defense mode overall.
2: “The First Camp of the Gulag,” 18
8/10
A bit confusing I must say. Quite a few different countries and areas are mentioned, yet we don't learn too much about any of the specific pre-Gulag camps all over the world.
3: 1929: The Great Turning Point, 41
7/10
Chapters 3 to 5 are just basic history chapters with not much there but info, but lots of small stories that I'm not great at remembering.
4: The White Sea Canal, 58
5: The Camps Expand, 73
6: The Great Terror and Its Aftermath, 92
PART TWO: LIFE AND WORK IN THE CAMPS
7: Arrest, 121
8: Prison, 146
9: Transport, Arrival, Selection, 159
10: Life in the Camps, 183
11: Work in the Camps, 216
12: Punishment and Reward, 242
9/10
Especially good chapter. But unfortunately all the chapters are largely similar and similar in quality so I can't really review them individually. But all chapters are good though! The book is just a bit weird in a way because it's not structured by years or camps, but rather by loose topics. So the chapters feel similar and that's both a good and bad thing. The writing is so amazing that you'll enjoy it no matter what.
13: The Guards, 256
14: The Prisoners, 280
15: Women and Children, 307
16: The Dying, 334
17: Strategies of Survival, 344
18: Rebellion and Escape, 390
PART THREE: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CAMP-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, 1940-1986
19: The War Begins, 411
20: “Strangers,” 420
21: Amnesty—and Afterward, 445
22: The Zenith of the Camp-Industrial Complex, 460
23: The Death of Stalin, 476
24: The Zeks’ Revolution, 484
25: Thaw—and Release, 506
26: The Era of the Dissidents, 527
27: The 1980s: Smashing Statues, 552
Conclusion:
Good book! This time around I went away from reviewing single chapters because the book is basically a collection of points and stories. The chapters are all at a similar level and the audiobook didn’t even clearly divide them in a forceful matter. Another reason I didn’t review chapters is because the book is very descriptive and large systems, ideas and patterns will have very simplified descriptions. So instead of just focusing on facts and stories from single times, areas or camps the author will often describe overall feelings and concepts and how she understands them. This makes the book an overall description of Gulag camps. You can read any chapter and learn basically the same stuff you find in any other chapter. It makes the book very, very long and all chapters drag out. It’s still amazing writing, and some very cool stories and I actually agree with most of her analyses. The book is not too long, it’s just very verbal and detailed. But you have to wonder why she chose this type of writing instead of removing 200 pages from the book by just focusing on the stories alone.
At any rate this is a top-tier history book with top-tier writing. But it’s so long that many readers will likely skip it. You also feel that it’s a bit feely/plain in the analysis. It’s all objective and correct enough it just doesn’t really mean much when the author for example states that prisoners overall may have felt a certain way. I would get that they felt that way if I read stories about it and their own words. While her words are not really selling me on the concepts. It’s hard to feel how the camps felt when she’s just explaining overall things. Unfortunately her extreme focus on being the second hand account makes the book less emotional and less focused. But it’s still very good if you just have the time and focus to spend on it. I think most readers would like a shorter book just focused on stories alone. But you’ll have a hard time finding something on this level.
