The American Review on the Soviet Union, October-November 1941
Author: Edgar Snow, Samuel H. Cross, edited by Harriet Moore
Publisher: The American Russian Institute for Cultural Relations with the Soviet Union, Inc.
Date: October-November 1941
Paperbound
Page Count: 73
The cataclysm that was the Nazi invasion of the USSR in June 1941 sent shock waves that were still cresting when this booklet was released 4 months later. Long gone is the celebration of the USSR-Germany non-aggression pact. Now there is a list of the mutual support pacts the USSR has entered into with the USA, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The Polish one takes an especially large set of b**** to include, as the Germans actually invaded the eastern half of Poland that the USSR had annexed in 1939 in its secret agreement with the Nazis. Beyond that, there is Edgar Snow’s article on partisan warfare, a very early recognition of what was to become a major strategic asset for the USSR. Snow is most famous for his reporting on Red China, but he was a true fellow traveler and lent his name to the USSR in their hour of need. Lastly, there is the paean to the Political Commissars, the so-called ‘morale builders’. They were the enforcers of discipline and political orthodoxy, and they crushed morale more than built it. Booklets like these are a reminder of the need to always get the alternative view, for their job is to seduce you into supporting their cause, not to present honest facts.
Very good condition for a softcover booklet. There is some discoloration on the right side of the front cover, perhaps where tape was peeled off. A former owner crimped his bookplate onto the front cover. All interior content is clean and crisp.
Author: Edgar Snow, Samuel H. Cross, edited by Harriet Moore
Publisher: The American Russian Institute for Cultural Relations with the Soviet Union, Inc.
Date: October-November 1941
Paperbound
Page Count: 73
The cataclysm that was the Nazi invasion of the USSR in June 1941 sent shock waves that were still cresting when this booklet was released 4 months later. Long gone is the celebration of the USSR-Germany non-aggression pact. Now there is a list of the mutual support pacts the USSR has entered into with the USA, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The Polish one takes an especially large set of b**** to include, as the Germans actually invaded the eastern half of Poland that the USSR had annexed in 1939 in its secret agreement with the Nazis. Beyond that, there is Edgar Snow’s article on partisan warfare, a very early recognition of what was to become a major strategic asset for the USSR. Snow is most famous for his reporting on Red China, but he was a true fellow traveler and lent his name to the USSR in their hour of need. Lastly, there is the paean to the Political Commissars, the so-called ‘morale builders’. They were the enforcers of discipline and political orthodoxy, and they crushed morale more than built it. Booklets like these are a reminder of the need to always get the alternative view, for their job is to seduce you into supporting their cause, not to present honest facts.
Very good condition for a softcover booklet. There is some discoloration on the right side of the front cover, perhaps where tape was peeled off. A former owner crimped his bookplate onto the front cover. All interior content is clean and crisp.
Author: Edgar Snow, Samuel H. Cross, edited by Harriet Moore
Publisher: The American Russian Institute for Cultural Relations with the Soviet Union, Inc.
Date: October-November 1941
Paperbound
Page Count: 73
The cataclysm that was the Nazi invasion of the USSR in June 1941 sent shock waves that were still cresting when this booklet was released 4 months later. Long gone is the celebration of the USSR-Germany non-aggression pact. Now there is a list of the mutual support pacts the USSR has entered into with the USA, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The Polish one takes an especially large set of b**** to include, as the Germans actually invaded the eastern half of Poland that the USSR had annexed in 1939 in its secret agreement with the Nazis. Beyond that, there is Edgar Snow’s article on partisan warfare, a very early recognition of what was to become a major strategic asset for the USSR. Snow is most famous for his reporting on Red China, but he was a true fellow traveler and lent his name to the USSR in their hour of need. Lastly, there is the paean to the Political Commissars, the so-called ‘morale builders’. They were the enforcers of discipline and political orthodoxy, and they crushed morale more than built it. Booklets like these are a reminder of the need to always get the alternative view, for their job is to seduce you into supporting their cause, not to present honest facts.
Very good condition for a softcover booklet. There is some discoloration on the right side of the front cover, perhaps where tape was peeled off. A former owner crimped his bookplate onto the front cover. All interior content is clean and crisp.