Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union from the Revolution to the Death of Stalin,   ISBN:9780810982796

Customer Rating: 

There are very few countries that have faced the severe traumas the Soviet Union experienced from 1917-1953. Although it may have been a hellish place to live, the Soviet Union nevertheless experienced a period of intense artisitc achievement. The art of this time was original, energetic and fueled by a manic need to educate.

David King is a well known historian of the Soviet Union with a special interest in the use of photography in Soviet propaganda. King is also a serious collector of early Soviet art. His collection encompasses posters, photographs and other paper ephemera. "Red Star Over Russia" is a catalogue of his remarkable collection. Along with his many startling images, King also provides a well written descriptions which place the images in their proper context.

"Red Star Over Russia" is a beautiful book with powerful images printed on high quality paper. This is a highly collectable book that will hold its value over time. In the coming years, "Red Star" will repeatedly provide me with great reading company. Highly recommended.

Customer Rating: 

A necessary purchase for anyone with a speck of interest in the Soviet era, at least as it was from inception through to the death of Stalin. The historical photographs and poster artwork amassed by David King and presented here are often stunning.

I especially valued the text and pictures of those defendants in the infamous show trials and the ones of the famous theater director, Meyerhold.

Readers should know that the author, David King, writes out of understandable hatred of Stalin and with less understandable acceptance, if not admiration, of Lenin and Trotsky.

Customer Rating: 

This book takes the often-bizarre inter-personal struggles that plagued Soviet politics and narrates the story using an array of propaganda art and photos of key players in the early years of the USSR. You can tell it was painstakingly put together, with attention to the overall flow from each image to the next a paramount concern.

Excellent visual history, with concise information relating to each topic. The concise, almost cold nature of the narrative is truly affective, especially as it relates to those pages dealing with the purges, and subsequent executions of countless communists. On many pages, each photo is captioned with nearly identical text - "Was shot on 'insert date'" - a cold reminder of the impersonal and often trivial issues that led to mass murder in this failed state.

Customer Rating: 

A compehensive compilation of colorful propaganda posters, classic photographs and rare snapshots beginning with the Russian Revolution and moving forward. The only downside is the size and placement of the descriptive notes, which are printed in very small type and seem to be laid out in a crammed and somewhat jumbled order. As a result, they are quite tedious and difficult for the eye to follow.

Customer Rating: 

An amazing pictorial companion to all of the verbal histories you've ever read about Russia between the end of the Czars and the end of Stalin. Endless pain and suffering throughout, but underneath it all, the incredible creative energy of the artists and designers and indomitable spirit of the ordinary people.