Stalin and the Soviet Science Wars is a fascinating book about one of themost enigmatic periods in Soviet history. With great insight and on the basisof thoroug... » 

Stalin and the Soviet Science Wars is a fascinating book about one of themost enigmatic periods in Soviet history. With great insight and on the basisof thorough archival research Ethan Pollock examines the organized discussionsof science in Stalins last years. He shows how important those discussions arefor understanding not only Stalinism but the Soviet experience as a whole. Thiswill be an indispensable book for historians of the Soviet Union and forhistorians and sociologists of science more generally.David HollowayStanford UniversityEthan Pollock has written an elegant and brilliantly penetrating history thatis so rich in detail and broad ranging in its analysis that it will quicklybecome required reading for anyone seeking to understand how Stalin managed theSoviet Union after World War II.Martin J. Sherwin Tufts UniversityThis is a major and original contribution to the study of late Stalinistsociety. As a reader I enjoyed it very much. It is poised to become a standardtext on Stalinist ideology and science fascinating for professionals andaccessible to students. Clearly conceived and organized the book is based onimpressive research including littleknown or previously unknown documentsfrom the Central Party archive Russias State Archive and the Soviet Academyof Science.Vladislav Zubok Temple University author of Inside theKremlins Cold WarStalin and the Soviet Science Wars tells the story of each of the scientificdebates under focus with admirable clarity and concision but withoutsacrificing the complexity of the issues or the stakes involved. Its portrayalof Stalin was to me utterly persuasive. This book willhave a broad audiencenot only in undergraduate courses on Soviet history Stalinism and the historyof science but also among the informed public.Lewis H. Siegelbaum MichiganState University author of Stalinism as a Way of Life «