Big Show in Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921 SYNOPSIS
A specialist in modern Russian history, Patenaude (history, Stanford U.) narrates the experience of nearly 300 American relief workers in the newly forged Soviet Union, which they called Bololand after the ruling Bolshevik Party. They penetrated through and beyond the Volga valley and encountered Russians of all classes and stations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
America's initial exposure to Russia's Socialist/Communist experiment came partly through Herbert Hoover's American Relief Agency (ARA), which supported relief efforts in Europe after the Great War. In 1921, the ARA responded to an appeal from Soviet Russia, which was undergoing a horrific famine. (Bolo was the not-so-affectionate term given to the Bolsheviks by ARA men.) Patenaude (history, Stanford Univ.; research fellow, Hoover Inst.) divides this large volume into four distinct sections, the first covering the Riga Agreement stipulating that the ATA would feed one million children-a number that eventually approached 20 million adults and children. Subsequent sections cover the culture shock experienced by the ARA's 200 or so administrators, the Russian plenipotentiaries and other local famine officials, and the ARA's coming to terms with the consequences of its efforts. The story of the Mennonite famine relief is not covered, but otherwise the book seems fairly complete. This is good background information for Russophiles or scholars in Soviet history. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with Soviet history collections.-Harry Willems, Southeast Kansas Lib. Syst., Iola Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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