[Fiji Hill]

Another book that might interest you is The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Russia by Tim Tzouliadis (New York: Penguin, 2008). In this book, Tzouliadis, a British researcher, tries to tell the story of the thousands of Americans who came to the Soviet Union in the 1920's and 1930's, many thinking that they were moving to a utopian paradise, only to wind up dead or in the Gulag. Although Tzouliadis did as much as he could to tell as much of the story as possible, the whole truth will never be known until Russia allows researchers to freely pursue it, which is highly unlikely.

Another that you might find interesting--and one that I haven't gotten around to reading yet--is Black on Red: My 44 Years inside the Soviet Union by Robert Robinson (Washington, DC: Acropolis, 1988). This is the story of a black American who found himself in Stalin's Soviet Union and somehow survived the purges. When he was interviewed at the time the book was published, the author spoke with a Russian accent.

[Auntie Mame]

Looks like we have the same reading list. I’ve read “The Forsaken,” in fact, I own it and bought two copies to give away. Yes, it’s incredibly good.

And I just recently read, in the last month, “Black on Red.” I’d had it on my reading pile for some time. When I first started it I thought, “Oh no, another ‘I’m black and white people don’t like me’” type book but it was surprisingly good. Considering he was elderly when it was written and he’d been through hell in Russia, in the sense of not being able to leave and having to keep to himself to stay alive, he is commended for undertaking such a daunting task as writing the book to tell his story.

Thanks for the conversation about this. It’s an interest of mine that no one I know shares.