A World Apart
by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński
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Gustaw Herling's A World Apart is one of the most important books about Soviet camps and communist ideology in the Stalinist period. First published in English in 1951 and translated into many languages, it was relatively unknown till Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago in the 1970s. However, the narrative of the author's experience in the Jertsevo gulag was highly appreciated by Bertrand Russell, Albert Camus, Jorge Semprun and others. In this first monograph on Herling's fascinating life, show more Bolecki discusses hitherto unknown documents from the writer's archive in Naples. His insight into the subject and poetics of Herling's book and the account of its remarkable reception offer readers an intriguing profile of one of the most compelling witnesses of the 20th century. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I can't believe that there aren't any reviews on this title. It is a powerful book. This author paints an honest and clear picture of his time in a Russian labour camp. It does go into detail the treachery of the various methods of punishment of his captors. What drew me in the most was the description of the psychological transformation of the inmates. To read this without digesting the mental impact is to do a great disservice to yourself. It is one of those works that really adjusts your perspective on life and society. I plan to read, of course, Dostoevsky's "House of the Dead" and Alexander Solzhenitsyn's work on the subject of Russian labor camps. It's such a shame that the world appears to have forgotten this aspect of history show more and lumped it with the rest of the horrors of World War II. show less
Publiée dès 1951 en traduction anglaise, cette oeuvre littéraire parfaitement maîtrisée, remarquée par Albert Camus, Bertrand Russel et Jorge Semprun, constitue un remarquable témoignage sur le goulag soviétique des années quarante (1940-1942).
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A World Apart
- Original title
- Inny świat : zapiski sowieckie
- Alternate titles*
- Een wereld apart : vroege verhalen uit sovjetkampen
- Original publication date
- 1951 (English) (English); 1953 (Polish) (Polish)
- Important places
- Grodno, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union; Vitebsk Prison, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union; Kargopol ITL, Yertsevo, Archangelsk Oblast', Russian SSR, Soviet Union
- Important events
- World War II (1939 | 1945)
- First words
- The summer of 1940 was nearly over when I was in Vitebsk.
- Original language
- Polish
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, History
- DDC/MDS
- 940.54 — History & geography History of Europe History of Europe 1918- Military history of World War II
- LCC
- HV8964 .S65 .H4713 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminal justice administration Penology. Prisons. Corrections
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 298
- Popularity
- 107,703
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.02)
- Languages
- 10 — Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 41
- ASINs
- 9




























































