The father of a friend of mine went with his family to the Soviet Union in 1930 because his father was assigned to a job there. Fortunately, the task he was assigned to do was completed, and they returned after about a year. After reading that book, I realized that the family narrowly avoided a horrific fate.
It’s a very good book. It was very critical of Joseph Davies, who in 1936 was appointed US ambassador to the USSR. He was married to Marjorie Merriweather Post, the General Foods heiress, and he was far more interested in living the high life than he was in doing his job.