Shcharansky. Hero of Our Time

Discusses Anatoly Shcharansky's activities on behalf of human rights in the Soviet Union and describes his arrest, trial, and imprisonment. Bibilog

Released from a Soviet prison this past February in an East-West "spy swap," although he had never been a spy, Russian dissident Anatol Shcharansky was reunited with his wife in Israel, ending a nine-year ordeal. His only crime had been campaigning on behalf of Soviet Jews like himself for exit visas and defending Jews' religious expression. Probably the fullest account to date of the refuseniks, their struggle in the U.S.S.R., and their campaigning in the West, this day-by-day log of setbacks, trials, arrests and escapes shows that the Soviet bureaucracy still views the crushing of the Jewish movement as a priority. Gilbert's stunning re-creation of Shcharansky's 1978 mock-trial is as memorable as Koestler's Darkness at Noon. Shcharansky's letters from prison to his wife and family overflow with faith, determination, courage and resilience. Gilbert wrote The Holocaust and The Jews of Hope. 25,000 first printing.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The release in February of the imprisoned dissident Anatoly Shcharansky makes this biography especially timely. Originally intended as an effort to keep up public awareness of Shcharansky's plight and to pressure for his release, the book is as much about the Jewish emigration movement as it is about the man. Based on interviews with people who had known and worked with Shcharansky over the years and on letters he wrote from prison, this is a biography of the public persona, not of the private human being. For example, extensive chapters on the trial and imprisonment say nothing about the prisoner's emotional state. While fuller biographies, and even Shcharansky's memoirs, may soon be available, subject collections will want to consider. Marcia L. Sprules, Univ. of South Dakota Lib . , Vermillion
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.