Despite the dedication to her book, lying is neither a unique nor the worst feature of communism.
She offers two definitions of "totalitarianism" in her introduction that are both no better than bumper stickers and immediately, pointlessly tars fascism, Nazism, and communism with that brush, not seeing that if the term is broad enough for all three it obscures rather than illuminates the distinctive natures and horrors of each.
Anne Applebaum.
Her book on the Gulag seemed, a few hundred pages in, like so much repetitive, undigested research material.
We'll see about this one.
A little unfair, perhaps. The further back you stand the more clear become the similarities but as her book concentrates on the Russian/Communist version its peculiarities will, presumably, become clear.
ReplyDeleteBut, Philo, as your friends are no doubt asking as they shake their heads sadly, what on earth are you doing reading such a litany of horror and misery?
Reasonable question, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteBut isn't that what histories are about?