“E. H. Carr’s History of Soviet Russia holds a unique position in the vast literature on Bolshevism and Soviet Russia. No other work on this subject comparable in scope and scale exists in English or in any other language; including the Russian.†―Times Literary Supplement In Volume III; Russia’s geographical position as both a European and an Asian power and her twin aims of promoting world revolution and establishing normal relations with capitalist governments led to severe stresses in Soviet foreign policy. This volume analyzes these strains and their domestic and international ramifications.
#219005 in Books Mark Kurlansky 2016-05-10 2016-05-10Format: Deckle EdgeOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.60 x 1.30 x 6.60l; .0 #File Name: 0393239616416 pagesPaper Paging Through History
Review
157 of 167 people found the following review helpful. Wild factual inaccuraciesBy Jill ZerkleWhile I have loved other Mark Kurlansky books; this one comes closer to fields I have studied and I was horrified to discover that neither he nor his editors bother to fact check before publishing. I further discovered there is no way to contact the author directly to let him know of his errors.He claims that "linguists regard Greek...to be...the grandparent of all modern European languages." (page 64 of 897 ebook version) My degree from UC Berkeley in linguistics disagrees with him. Modern European languages come from a number of different language families; most NOT descended from Greek.He claims that silk contains cellulose. (page 91 of 897 ebook version). This is a gross misstatement. Cellulose is a polysaccharide: silk is a protein. These are distinctly different polymers. The idea that you can make something paper-like out of either does not make them the same thing.At that point; I had to stop reading.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Four Stars! Not Kurlansky's Best But Still Fun!By VA 6"Salt" is one of my all-time favorites; and I enjoyed Cod and Basques as well. I was overjoyed to see Kurlansky getting back into the history game with "Paper". Let me say that I enjoyed the book. Not as much as the other three; but it was enjoyable to read. There were a few questionable "facts"; and I see why some reviewers have jumped on them; but none of these take away from the overall message in my mind. The only addition I'd like to make is that "less is more" would have been helpful in parts. The section of his trip to Japan really managed to weigh down the whole book and came across to me as him trying to justify a free trip to Japan; as was his sudden appearance in Basque country which was also out of place for the subject. All that being said; this book is a fun read. It is a delight to see Kurlansky back into the game; and I assure you I'll still give his next book a look.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. An OK readBy Laurence J. BloomMaybe it is just the nature of the subject; but this book was very repetitious. I would have settled for a journal article-length piece. It also did a lot of hair-splitting on the topic of who did what first.
