Karl Schlgel is professor emeritus of Eastern European history at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder and a noted journalist. His books include Moscow 1937, The Scent of Empires: Chanel No. 5 and Red Moscow, and Ukraine: A Nation on the Borderland.
"A Financial Times Best Summer Book"
"A Financial Times Best Book of the Year- History"
"A BBC History Magazine Book of the Year"
"A Seminary Co-Op Notable Book of the Year"
"An impressively evocative look at material life in the USSR, from
gulags and the planned economy to Red Moscow perfume and the Soviet
toilet — a “lost civilisation” of utopian fantasy and unbridled
terror."
*Financial Times*
"Who else could have a whole chapter on Soviet-era doorknobs? This
is a fascinating book about the material loose ends, the pamphlets,
the clothes, the non-existent phone books, the shop signs, the
chest medals, and the bric-a-brac — among many other items — of the
Soviet Union. . . . This is in my view one of the better books for
understanding the Soviet Union."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal
Revolution
"The Soviet Century . . . presents history in a novel way,
showcasing customs and traditions, values and artefacts, that offer
many poignant insights and helps readers understand the Russian
psyche today. . . . It’s a fascinating, multi-faceted read that
both takes historical stock and zooms in on miniature
details."---Jana Bakunina, Financial Times
"His focus is not on the foreign relations or domestic crises of
Soviet rule but on outward appearances: the look, the smell, the
sounds of everyday life. Based on decades of research and an
intimate knowledge of history and culture, ‘The Soviet Century’ is
a fascinating chronicle of a not-so-distant era."---Joshua
Rubenstein, Wall Street Journal
"A detailed examination of the relics of ordinary communist life.
Perfect for dipping into."---Fred Studemann, Financial Times
"In a work of remarkable range and quality, Karl Schlögel explores
the everyday life and material culture of the Soviet Union in ways
that show the communist experiment in a compellingly fresh light.
One of the most innovative books on Soviet history to appear since
the state’s collapse in 1991."---Tony Barber, Financial Times
"Schlögel – assisted by his excellent translator, Rodney
Livingstone – is an eloquent writer and a captivating travel guide
around this Soviet “lost world”."---Stephen Lovell, Times Literary
Supplement
"Karl Schlögel . . . and his wonderful noticing of things and how
they sit in space is on full display in the 900-plus pages of The
Soviet Century. Schlögel variously calls his book an archaeology,
an exhibition, and a museum of the Soviet “'ifeworld.' Its focus on
the things of everyday life makes it, in his view, not an
'encyclopedia of banalities”'(a phrase used by the Russian
historian Natalia Lebina about her own history of everyday life)
but rather 'an encyclopedia of fundamentals.' Just about everything
memorable and (to a Westerner) odd about Soviet everyday life is
there."---Sheila Fitzpatrick, Foreign Policy
"Extremely timely and utterly indispensable."---Vitali Vitaliev,
Engineering and Technology
"[A] magnum opus. . . . This invaluable study casts a lost world in
a new light."
*Publishers Weekly (Starred review)*
"Who knew that, apart from his experiments with dogs, Ivan Pavlov
wrote a preface concerning nutrition for a bestselling Soviet
cookbook? That’s one of just many oddments Schlögel assembles in
this utterly absorbing tour through the material goods that defined
the Soviet era, from pulpy wrapping paper to the medals veterans
wore, from canned goods to perfume and tchotchkes and everything in
between. . . . A superb blend of social history and material
culture, essential for students of 20th-century geopolitics."
*Kirkus Reviews (Starred review)*
"A pinnacle in Soviet studies. . . . A splendid book."
*Library Journal (Starred review)*
"Formidable. . . . The emergence of this book in our intellectual
landscape is timely, as we seek to better understand Russia in an
era when systematic political, economic, social, and even cultural
approaches have failed to explain or predict the current
resurrection of the 'Soviet Leviathan.' Indeed, perhaps 'the devil
is hidden in the details,' and by diving yet again into these
minute but culturally rich details of Soviet banal routine,
spiritual life, and rituals, we can make a step forward in our
comprehension of why the dark side of 'Soviet civilization' keeps
reemerging again and again."---Oksana Ermolaeva, EuropeNow
(Editor's pick)
"Nine hundred pages in length and wonderfully illustrated
throughout. . . .It is a welcome and unique contribution to Soviet
studies."---Steven Andrew, Morning Star
"Fascinating. . . . The scholarship of the work is evident
throughout, but 'The Soviet Century' is both more powerful and more
subtle than a typical work of scholarship. At its heart, it’s a
gigantic, heartfelt elegy, one of the most stunning tributes ever
paid to the Soviet Union."---Steve Donoghue, Big Canoe News
"A work of deep scholarship and significant breadth about a
relatively brief period of recent history when it seemed that there
might be an alternative economic system to capitalism."---Joseph
Brady, Society
"The wealth of this book cannot be sufficiently explored within the
limits of a review. Gibbonian in scale, it is a veritable
cornucopia of jewels. “In Russia, radical changes and catastrophic
experiences occur in their pure form,” Schlögel states. Reading his
chronicle of this massive churn in all its sensory whimsies, we
gain fresh insights into the lost world of the Soviet
Union."---Prasenjit Chowdhury, Hindustan Times
"A terrific book – eye opening, captivating and wholly
revealing."---David Marx, David Marx Book Reviews
"Schlögel’s book is ingenious – thrilling, even – introducing
readers to a [sic] extraordinary array of things that rarely find a
place in history books: tattoos, wrapping paper, the place of
pianos, and nameplates on apartments and houses."---Peter
Frankopan, BBC History Magazine
"An extraordinary book. . . .When future historians pick up today’s
pieces in their search for greater historical understanding of our
own present, they will find in The Soviet Century an elegant
example of how we might knit them together with nuance, empathy,
expertise, and a deep humanity."---Brigid O’Keefe, Ab Imperio
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