"Iron Curtain"

Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944 - 1956 (Anne Applebaum)

I've seen this book described as "formidable", and I think that's quite apt. This is not just because of the size, although it does weigh in at 470 big face-crushing pages - (without biblography!), but also because of the subject matter. Split up into two sections ("False Dawn" from the end of World War II to about 1948 and "High Stalinism" from then until 1956), you can probably guess what it's about. I normally prefer straight narrative history, but Applebaum's approach here is to split the changing society up into themes, which are explored by looking primarily at the examples of East Germany, Poland, and Hungary. It's a testament to Applebaum's writing that working under the dual handicaps of a style I don't care for and the exceedingly grim material she has produced a very readable book. I know that sounds like faint praise, but it's no easy task making a book about, well, the crushing of Eastern Europe into both an informative and enjoyable reading experience. That being said, even Applebaum can only do so much to make an entire book about this kind of thing from being too depressing, and I recommend taking occasional breaks to peruse something with a slightly lighter tone.

Grade: A