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Inside This Issue
100 Fundamental Books — Part 3 Page 1 How to Keep Your Family Close in a BusyWorld Take a Break Page 2 What’s the Difference Between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13? Cacio e Pepe Page 3
Recognizing What We Have Page 4
‘Gulag: A History’ by Anne Applebaum A Page FromMatt’s Bookshelf
It looks like I have a bit of a theme going, because this month, we’re back in Russia with Anne Applebaum’s “Gulag: A History.” Much like “Darkness at Noon,” which we covered last month, “Gulag” deals with oppression in the Soviet Union, except Applebaum’s book is nonfiction. Applebaum used Soviet-era archives as well as diaries and writings from people who survived their time in the camps to write her book. The Soviet Gulag was a system of prison camps set up beneath Vladimir Lenin and increased while Joseph Stalin was in power. For over 35 years, these camps were part of Soviet life. Anyone from petty criminals to political prisoners could be thrown in a camp, often without trial. Even just mocking the Soviet government could get a person and their entire family shipped off to one of these camps, where they were rarely heard from again. It’s
estimated that around 14 million people were imprisoned in Gulag camps from 1928 to 1953. At least 2.3 million people died in these camps, though many historians believe the death toll to be higher.
wrote about the everyday lives of prisoners, the hardships they faced, and the millions of people who never left the camps. “Gulag” won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.
These last few books I’ve written about have been
“Gulag” is a tough read because it’s so
really sad stories. I don’t read these kinds of books to be a downer. I believe we should read books like “Gulag” and “Darkness at Noon” so we can better appreciate the freedoms we have. The Gulag camps are far from the only example of government oppression in history. It’s important to recognize how something like that happens so we can see the warning signs and protect our own freedoms.
unbelievably tragic. It’s hard to think about how many people had their lives turned upside down after being suddenly arrested and thrown in jail. The government used these camps as a fear tactic while Stalin worked to gain more power and keep it through any means necessary. In “Gulag,” Applebaum
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