This compelling and often traumatic book details the personal history of two generations of one Russian family, and opens up a horrific panorama of the harsh effects of the communist rule on ordinary people: starvation, terror, war, and an occasional chance of surviving by escape. It is the only reliable tale of an escape from the Soviet Union written in the English language in recent years. Most scholarly tomes published in the U.S. chronicle the rise and fall of communism in Russia through the eyes of foreign observers and fail to provide insight into the everyday existence of soviet people. George Shirokow's memoir fills this gap. The opening chapters of Enemy of the People paint a portrait of a Russia few Americans know existed: a world of grace and abundance that was brought crashing down by communism. Reflecting on his personal misfortunes under Stalin's soviet socialists and Hitler's national socialists, and describing lucky turns of later years, George Shirokow has written a gripping story of his eventful life bound to fascinate even a reader not particularly interested in Russia's destiny. Although Shirokow's circumstances were often dire, there is much to amuse and inspire in this dramatic reminiscence of poverty, fear, war, flight, and finally freedom and prosperity. The short excursuses interspersed through the narrative contain background information and a multitude of historical facts discovered by Shirokow but overlooked by Western chroniclers. Compelling and filled with jeopardy, action and (perhaps unexpectedly) humor, Enemy of the People is sure to appeal to a broad range of readers.
