The Gulag Archipelago, Volume 1: 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, I-II

In this masterpiece, Solzhenitsyn has orchestrated thousands of incidents and individual histories into one narrative of unflagging power and momentum. Written in a tone that encompasses Olympian wrath, bitter calm, savage irony, and sheer comedy, it combines history, autobiography, documentary, and political analysis as it examines in its totality the Soviet apparatus of repression from its inception following the October Revolution of 1917. This first volume involves us in the innocent victim's arrest and preliminary detention and the stages by which he is transferred across the breadth of the Soviet Union to his ultimate destination: the hard labor camp.

About the Author :
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was born in Kislovodsk, Russia. A twice-decorated captain in the Soviet Army, he was stripped of his rank, arrested, and convicted for privately criticizing Stalin in 1945. Exiled from the USSR in 1974, he eventually settled in the United States before returning to his homeland twenty years later after the Soviet system had collapsed. Among his acclaimed works are the novels One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The First Circle. His literary awards include the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Medal of Honor for Literature. Frederick Davidson (1932-2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile's Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.

Review :
"What distinguishes this account is its particular quality of moral outrage. Precisely because of his moral vision [Solzhenitsyn] has been able to probe the underbelly of totalitarian society and he has limned it perfectly." -- "Christian Science Monitor" "Written by a man whose courage, whose integrity, and whose experience will give it overwhelming authority throughout the world. It is a truly exceptional work: for in it literature transcends history, without distorting it." -- "Saturday Review" "An extraordinary achievement...Solzhenitsyn's reconstruction of this secret 'country' within the country is itself a heroic accomplishment under Soviet conditions. The main sources are his own prison experiences from 1945 to 1953 and those related to him by 227 other survivors. Their testimonies are supplemented by information from official, samizdat, and even several Western publications. They are assembled in a powerful narrative which combines the prose styles of epic novelist, partisan historian, and outraged moralist, interspersed with Russian proverbs, black humor, prison camp language, and parodies of Soviet bureaucratese." -- "New York Times Book Review" "The greatest and most powerful single indictment of a political regime ever to be leveled in modern times." -- "New York Review of Books"