Description
Unique account of how ordinary people shaped Soviet-American relations in the 1930s told through the adventures of two Russian humourists.
About the Author
Lisa Kirschenbaum is an award-winning author whose research explores how individuals navigated the traumas of the twentieth century. Her books include Small Comrades: Revolutionizing Childhood in Soviet Russia, 1917-1932 (2000); The Legacy of the Siege of Leningrad, 1941-1995 (2006); and International Communism and the Spanish Civil War (2015).
Reviews
'This book breathes a mixed spirit of distant travel, cultural misperception, mortal danger, and satirical laughter. In 1935, two Soviet authors crossed the US in 1935, from New York to Carmel, and published an engaging but deceptive travelogue, One-Story America. In her striking reconstruction, Lisa A. Kirschenbaum combines both realities -- Soviet literature and American history - in one story, well-grounded in the archives but very entertaining to the contemporary reader.' Alexander Etkind, author of Russia Against Modernity
'With extraordinary ingenuity, Lisa Kirschenbaum meticulously retraces the famous journey of two Soviet writers across Depression-era America. Through close reading of their private notebooks and the multiple accounts they produced at different moments, she reveals many contradictions, misunderstandings, and misrepresentations in their highly influential work.' David S. Foglesong, author of The American Mission and the 'Evil Empire': The Crusade for a 'Free Russia' Since 1881
'Retracing the steps of Ilf and Petrov's 1935 American road trip, Kirschenbaum not only reveals fascinating things about the US and USSR in the 1930s, she also reminds us of ways the past reverberates in the present.' Julia Mickenberg, author of American Girls in Red Russia: Chasing the Soviet Dream
'...a must for readers interested in Soviet, American, or Jewish history and radical politics.' Margaret Heller, Library Journal
'... a meticulously pieced together new perspective on Soviet-U.S. relations.' Publishers Weekly
Book Information
ISBN 9781316518465
Author Lisa A. Kirschenbaum
Format Hardback
Page Count 354
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 650g
Dimensions(mm) 236mm * 160mm * 23mm