A Hard Man to Beat was a story told to Howard White (no relation) by Bill White, former president of the Marine Workers and Boilermakers Union. Bill brought about many changes that made such a difference to the "little guy", or "the working stiff" as Bill referred to his colleagues. He speaks the truth and tells what happened without trying to polish up the story to make it politically correct. The book was reviewed by many TV and radio stations after it was published and was ordered by an Ontario University to use in its Political Science classes. A good read and one that will make you look at modern day politicians in a new light.

Bruce E. Field's Harvest of Dissent: The National Farmers Union and the Early Cold War illustrates the consequences of denouncing American foreign policy in the years following WWII.

The National Farmers Union questioned the ability of the United States to establish world hegemony, and argued for international cooperation to address issues of worldwide poverty and self-determination. The Truman administration chose instead to view the world as a playing field upon which the competing interests of the United States and the Soviet Union vied for domination. As advocates of international cooperation through the United Nations, the National Farmers Union dissented from the unilateral and aggressive actions of Truman's foreign policy. Instead of being perceived as representing a legitimate divergent view of how U.S. foreign policy might be better conducted, the organization became the target for suppressive criticism and unsubstantiated claims of Communist infiltration by the FBI, the State Department, and the House Un-American Activities Committee.

As the Cold War intensified into the Korean War, the National Farmers Union faced the dilemma of whether to continue their opposition to American foreign policy or, conversely, to align itself within the prevailing American attitude of consensus. Organizational leaders differed as to the best path. Field follows the inner politics of the National Farmers Union as national president Jim Patton led the effort to purge the vocal critics of the Truman administration. Patton moved in this direction after he decided the group needed to support the U.S. Korean War effort in order to survive. His Machiavellian machinations successfully removed the loudest and most influential of the dissenters, including Fred Stover.

Field presents an interesting dichotomy of dissent. On one side, Jim Patton and the National Farmer's Union, after an early period of dissent, tried to maintain influence during the growing Red Scare by adopting a posture supportive of the U.S. Korean War effort. While on the other side, Fred Stover continued his dissent during the Korean War by refusing to temper his condemnation of an aggressive American foreign policy that he believed played a role in provoking and escalating the Cold War. The irony of Field's dichotomy lay in the fact that both Jim Patton and Fred Stover achieved about the same impact. As critics, at one time or another, they were disloyal, untrustworthy, and hence, marginalized in the post World War II political climate. Field shows that the 'harvest of dissent' for the National Farmers Union, Jim Patton, and Fred Stover failed to reap a fundamental examination of the assumptions of American Cold War foreign policy.

I recommend the book as important in revealing the role the climate of consensus played in limiting debate during the early years of the Cold War. Field provides a telling example of exactly how government pressure limited dissent and the exploration of alternatives to fighting the Cold War.

"When I was sixteen years of age I traded the golden harvestfields of grain for the red harvestfields of death." With these words the book Harvestfields of Death begins the epic journey of the men of the Twentieth Indiana Volunteers through the Civil War. An heroic regiment and an equally heroic endeavor to write this history. Craig Dunn is becoming the finest Civil War historian of his generation.

This book is a great reading! These Chekhov's stories of the early period are full of humour: some of them are just funny but lots of them are psychologically deep. No surprise that most of these stories are widely recognised as masterpieces! Though written in the late XIX these stories are still of great importance for the contemporary reader because they deal with such eternal things as human soul and human character. And in such a funny manner! The translation is remarkable. Those who ever tried to translate literary prose from Russian into English know how difficult this task is. You can really enjoy Sekirin's publication : he succeeded in the translation of the most difficult passages, those in which Chekhov describes the specific atmosphere of Russian reality and even those in which Chekhov play words. Read this book and recommend it to everybody! It is a real treasure of humour and a great exhibition of human characters!

I wrote the introduction to this history/memoir and I'd like to make one "correction." As a unionist and leftist, I wanted make clear the organic role played by the American Communist Party and by such stirling Communists as Wyndam Mortimer in the very early days of the CIO and the UAW. But Henry Kraus was clearly ambivalent about such relevations, even 60 and 70 years after. So in the text, such political candor is muted, and even in the introduction, I acquiesced to the author and dropped a reference to Wyndam Mortimer, who was Kraus' mentor, as a "pioneer Communist." I felt conflicted at the time, and this historiographic thorn has never ceased to irritate, so this note corrects part of the record. I should add, that the book is otherwise excellent and offers a real feel for the internal UAW politics of the 1930s.

Nelson Lichtenstein Professor of History University of Virginia

This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand why and how the socialist bloc disintegrated in 1989. Azad explains in detail the errors made by the leaders of the communist party (particularly Gorbachev) and how they betrayed the revolution by moving towards a market economy. Azad argues that although imperialism has temporarily succeeded in crushing any opposition it has created immense social disparities between the rich and poor. In short, capitalism is facing social, political, and economic contradictons that it attempts resolve by further expanding its global reach.

By resisting the Stalin regime and creating the organizations and the atmosphere that survived those dark days, the Rebbe inspired and enabled the rebirth Yiddishkeit in all the lands of the former Soviet Union.

It is possible that without the underground movement inspired by the Rebbe instead of refusniks and the massive exodus of the 80s and 90s, Russian Jewry might have dissolved in a haze of assimilation.

In The Heroic Struggle we have Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak's own account of his ordeal. As riveting as a contemporary thriller He writes: "... sensitive and talented authors would find much material for lengthy works on the nature of human feeling and conduct by merely depicting ... the ... two hours from my arrival in the prison ... " Actually the Rebbe hasn't left much for other authors. His narrative is vividly detailed, insightful and sensitive. From the remarkably detailed description of his cell to the penetrating analyses of his captors, interrogators and fellow prisoners, the Rebbe involves the reader in his experience.

"Historical Dictionary of Belarus" consists of four parts: chronology of historical events (from the earliest times to our days); overview of Belarus's history; a dictionary part (over 400 articles and biographical sketches); bibliography (including citations in English, with articles from Belarusian Review); and a supplement "Rulers of Belarus" (from Duke Rahvalod to President Luukashenka). The volume has two maps: one indicating Belarus' main cities and towns (courtesy of Belarusian Review) and the other showing the strategic location of Belarus in the East European context. As of today, Zaprudnik's book is the only English-language source of data on Belarus' past and present. The volume provides essential information on historical personages, current figures, political parties and their leaders; it has articles on archeology, early tribes, main rivers, major battles, economy, education, historiography, demography, language, culture, literature, arts, religion, national idea, the Belarusian diaspora, recent referenda, parliament, human rights, etc. In the article on alphabets, two sets of characters are given: Cyrillic and Latin. This will be of assistance to those who are not familiar with the Belarusian Latin and Cyrillic alphabets that have been and are still used. The easy style of the dictionary will enable English speaking families with Belarusian heritage in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia to use the book in explaining to their children and grandchildren the country of their origin and its present status in the world. The book could also be helpful to those who are learning English and wish to inform their foreign friends about Belarus.

An excellently researched and balanced study of small unit actions. Best I've ever read with credit being given to both sides. The author accompanies the narrative with dozens of good maps and leads the reader very smoothly through a rather complicated entanglement of fighting on the Russian front. Highly recommended.

Anyone who wishes to study 20th Century history must read this book. It appears in various editions, and I can only comment on the one which I hold, which is the 1938 (first English)edition.

It is normal to assume that any historian will present events not only in the light of his research, but also of his political position. There is no such thing as "objective" history. However the "Short Course" takes this basic rule of thumb to the extreme, and in doing so tells us more about the society in which it was produced, than it does about the events outlined.

It is a "history" of the CPSU, starting from its foundation in 1898 and ending (depending on which edition you have) during the period of Soviet consolidation after the Yeshov period.

The basic details of the early years of the Party are given, and most of the personalities involved are covered. However, from the period of the beginning of WW1 onwards the book ceases to be history and becomes polemic; In effect a justification for everything which has happened between 1914 and the publication date.

People do not simply "disappear" (although some do) from the subsequent historical narrative, they become transformed. All those who had been, or were, opposing Stalin in the late 1930's have their philosophical "mistakes" backdated twenty years. Thus, Trotsky was a Menshevik spy, Zinoviev and Kamenev opposed the timing of the Revolution publically because they wanted to alert their bourgeois masters to the impending threat, and Bukharin and Rykov were from the start engaged with the British, French and German secret services.

Of course I, no more than you, can prove that this was not the case. However I allow myself, as must any historian, a little scepticism. And in this case that secpticism is backed up not only by all other historical sources on the subject, but also on the obvious internal contradictions of the book itself.

This book is a work of fiction, and a quite frightening one.

It was learned by rote by all CPSU members (long after the (B)had disappeared), as the true history of their Party. Their "habit" of believing it ("secret speech" or not) goes some way to explaining what happened to the Soviet Union subsequently.

For all those reasons this book is a "must read". It is turgid in parts, and quite exciting in others, but it is unquestionably one of the most fascinating and influential books ever written.