Yesterday I learned on social media that a Columbia professor was found to have plagiarized one of his recent books and is retiring at the end of his sabbatical as a consequence. Given how much I loathe plagiarism I feel he's getting off more lightly than he deserves, but it is what it is.

 

As I was reading the comments on the article, one of the commenters wrote that "this jerk joins the ranks of [Orlando] Figes and [Anne] Applebaum of 'acclaimed' historians who make crap up with no consequence." Seeing Figes accused of plagiarism was something of a surprise; while I know he had a well-deserved reputation as asshole, I wasn't aware that he had been accused of plagiarism. It turns out that I was pretty clueless in that regard, as there have been accusations of dodgy scholarship going back decades, culminating with the abandonment of a Russian-language edition of his 2007 book The Whisperers because of its numerous errors.

 

Reading it pained me greatly, as irrespective of his personality I had thought highly of his work until that point. I had read his history of the Crimean War back in 2011 and thought it a fine account of a complicated conflict. I had also started A People's Tragedy, his history of the Russian Revolution, and while I wasn't able to finish it it wasn't because of any issue I had with the book itself. I also had a copy of The Whisperers unread on my shelf, with plans to get to it at some point. Now that book is in my book box, and I'm trying to decide whether to keep A People's Tragedy or get rid of it as well. It seems excessive to dump it because of the issues with his other work, but at the same time it seems that Figes's issues with plagiarism and with distorting evidence are too frequent to ignore. And what to do with his history of the Crimean War, which seems untainted by accusations  but which doubts are now natural?

While I'm enjoying this book, I'm moving it back to my "to-read" list. I have a veritable avalanche of books coming up to review and podcast, and my new viewing obsession (which I'll post about once I finish my trip) has primed me to do a deep dive into Spanish history. Uncle Joe will have to wait until a later date.

I've had this one on my shelf since it first came out, but it took my ex-student's decision to make it the next selection of our two-person book club for me to crack it open. Kotkin's introduction comes across as a little grandiose, but I do like his myth-busting approach to his subject. Hopefully the former will subside as I wade in further.

Parking this one for the moment....... may come back to it but for now now really keeping my attention.

I loved this book as it is a sharp and shocking insight into Russia history that is extremely well written and informative
Every now and again I need to be shocked by history and while I have read a lot of books on this period in history and the terror of Stalin, The Whisperers has something entirely different to offer as it tells the accounts of the the loved ones left behind after their husbands wife's mothers or fathers have been informed on and either shot or sent to the Gulag.

The Whisperers draws on hundreds of family archives (letters, diaries, personal papers and memoirs and photographs) concealed by the survivors of the Stalin Terror in secret drawers and under mattresses across Russia. In each family extensive interviews were carried out with the oldest members to bring about the many many important and heart breaking accounts of ordinary family's who survived through Stalin's reign of terror.

I had a hard copy edition from my local library and at just under 750 pages is quite a slow but compelling read and while most memoirs or biographies of the survivors of Stalin's Great Terror concentrate on those who were imprisoned or killed, the Whisperers gives us an intimate look at the devastation experienced by the family members left behind. While numerous family accounts are catalogued in the book, each account is only a few pages long and therefore the reader only learns what is necessary for that particular account and family and yet some of the family stories are so memorable and heartbreaking that I will have a difficulty time leaving them behind. The book has a vast amount of photographs and it was nice to be able to put faces to some of the people concerned. There is also a terrific introduction at the beginning of the book which I found so informative and helpful.

I am aware that there was controversary surrounding this book when it was published but it did not affect my reading of this book.

I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy Russian history but be warned this is a long and detailed book and quite a slow read.

This was my first Library book as I only joined my local Library last month for research I was doing and while there I saw this book in the history section and knew it was right up my street. Having said that half ways through the book I ordered a copy as really want this one for my book shelf.



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