My expectations were not high when I first started to read Aristide R. Zolberg’s “One-Party Government in the Ivory Coast.” Princeton University Press published the book in 1969. Every book I have ever read about Africa—or any subject—that an Ivy League university published during decolonization and the Cold War has been a disappointment. However, theContinue reading “Review: “One-Party Government in the Ivory Coast” – Aristide R. Zolberg”
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Our Trip is Confirmed!
Soon we will embark on what I hope will be a fantastic, life-changing trip…to Uzbekistan! Many of you reading this might know I am obsessed with Central Asia. This region excites and fascinates me like none other. Firstly, the history of Central Asia is extraordinary! As the centre of the ancient Silk Road, almost everyContinue reading “Our Trip is Confirmed!”
Roll back Prices! Raise Wages!
Review: “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man who makes War Possible” – Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah
“Merchant of Death” by Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah is the story of Viktor Bout, the Tajik-born Russian arms dealer who was the inspiration behind the 2005 film Lord of War starring Nicholas Cage. According to Braun and Farah, Bout’s arms smuggling operation was gargantuan. Bout owned a fleet of massive Soviet cargo planes, suchContinue reading “Review: “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man who makes War Possible” – Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah”
Review: “The Peloponnesian War” – Donald Kagan
Donald Kagan’s “The Peloponnesian War” is a mammoth tome on arguably one of the most devastating periods in Hellenic history—the war between the Athenian Empire and Sparta’s Peloponnesian League (431-404 BC). What began as a civil war in Epidamnus sparked a colonial war between Corcyra and Corinth. When Athens agreed to assist Corcyra in itsContinue reading “Review: “The Peloponnesian War” – Donald Kagan”
Review: “Soviets in Central Asia” – W. P. and Zelda Coates
“Soviets in Central Asia” by W. P. and Zelda Coates confirmed my expectation of a broad, Marxist overview of the socialist transformation of Russian Turkestan and the emirates of Bukhara and Khiva. I enjoy the Coates’ work on the USSR, although most people would criticize them for being too ‘Stalinist.’ While there is an elementContinue reading “Review: “Soviets in Central Asia” – W. P. and Zelda Coates”
New Arrivals: WWII-era Soviet Pamphlets
A few “new” and exciting books arrived in the mail, including some historically significant WWII-era pamphlets that will make a fabulous addition to our already substantial collection of Soviet works. First-edition (1935) copy of Georgi Dimitrov’s famous The United Front Against Fascism and War speech to the 7th Congress of the Communist International. First-edition (1939)Continue reading “New Arrivals: WWII-era Soviet Pamphlets”
Review: “South Africa’s Transkei: The Political Economy of an ‘Independent’ Bantustan’ – Roger Southall
Roger Southall’s “South Africa’s Transkei: The Political Economy of an ‘Independent’ Bantustan” (Monthly Review, 1983) is a technical book that examines the emergence of ‘independent’ bantustans in South Africa from the 1970s to the end of apartheid in 1994. Using Marxian political economy, Southall unravels the economic and material basis of the bantustans, focusing onContinue reading “Review: “South Africa’s Transkei: The Political Economy of an ‘Independent’ Bantustan’ – Roger Southall”
Review: “Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation” – Michael H. Belzer
Before obtaining his Ph.D. in economics from Cornel University, Michael H. Belzer logged over 750,000 over-the-road miles as a Teamster tank-truck driver. Thus, along with his academic background, Belzer has firsthand experience working in the trucking industry. Like Belzer, I, too, am an academic with experience working in the trucking industry, increasing the appeal ofContinue reading “Review: “Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation” – Michael H. Belzer”
Review: “Soviet-Polish Relations, 1917-1921” – Piotr S. Wandycz
Piotr S. Wandycz examines Soviet-Polish relations in the period between the October Revolution of 1917 to the conclusion of the Soviet-Polish war with the signing of the Treaty of Riga in 1921. For a book published by Harvard University Press, Wandycz is surprisingly and refreshingly detailed and objective as he examines the diplomatic and militaryContinue reading “Review: “Soviet-Polish Relations, 1917-1921” – Piotr S. Wandycz”
“Nagorno-Karabakh: A Reassessment of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict” – AVAILABLE NOW!
I am very excited to announce that my first book – “Nagorno-Karabakh: A Reassessment of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict” – is now available on Amazon.com! The Azerbaijani attack on the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh (formerly the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) in September 2020 shattered the illusion that this conflict is “frozen.” The forty-four-day war in 2020Continue reading ““Nagorno-Karabakh: A Reassessment of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict” – AVAILABLE NOW!”
New Book Coming September 2022: “Nagorno-Karabakh: A Reassessment of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict” – Me
I am very excited to announce that my first book – Nagorno-Karabakh: A Reassessment of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict – is currently being formatted for publication on Amazon as a hardcover and eBook, and is expected to be available for purchase in September 2022. Stay tuned for more updates!
Review: “Central Asia in Modern Times: A History from the Early 19th Century” – Devendra Kaushik
“Central Asia in Modern Times: A History from the Early 19th Century” by Devendra Kaushik is a history of Central Asia since the Russian conquest in the mid-1800s. As a Marxist-Leninist from India who studied the national archives in Russia, India, and Uzbekistan, Kaushik’s perspective is very much of an outsider looking in. This outsiderContinue reading “Review: “Central Asia in Modern Times: A History from the Early 19th Century” – Devendra Kaushik”
Review: “Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” – ed. I. R. Grigulevich
“Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” is a collection of essays by Soviet ethnologists edited by I. R. Grigulevich about ethnic, racial, and national issues in both the USSR and other countries. This is an impressively comprehensive book. Part 1 of the book examines ethnocultural processes in the USSR and is dividedContinue reading “Review: “Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” – ed. I. R. Grigulevich”
Review: “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” – Michael Parenti
“To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” by Michael Parenti is the best book on the Balkan wars I have ever read. Parenti is my two favourite authors (the other being Victor Perlo), and this is probably my favourite book by him. Anyone interested in the Balkans and NATO’s aggressive expansion since the overthrowContinue reading “Review: “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” – Michael Parenti”
Review: “The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood” – William D. Haywood
The one-eyed William D. “Big Bill” Haywood (1869-1923) was a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a member of the Communist Party of the USA, and a revolutionary fighter against capitalism and exploitation. His autobiography is a riveting working-class history of the USA. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1869,Continue reading “Review: “The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood” – William D. Haywood”
Karakalpakstan: Mirziyoyev the New “Saakashvili”? (Some Thoughts)
Widespread demonstrations in Uzbekistan’s large autonomous republic Karakalpakstan have reportedly left 18 people dead and triggered the declaration of a month-long state of emergency by the Uzbek regime. The demonstrations come after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed on 1 July 2022 a new Constitution of Uzbekistan—which has since been withdrawn—that would have ended Karakalpakstan’s autonomous statusContinue reading “Karakalpakstan: Mirziyoyev the New “Saakashvili”? (Some Thoughts)”
Review: “Africa’s World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe” – Gérard Prunier
Gérard Prunier’s Africa’s World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe is a masterful study of the causes and consequences of the Rwandan Genocide (1994) and the First and Second Congo Wars (1996-1997, 1998-2003). The Rwandan Civil War (1990-1994) began when Paul Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded Rwanda fromContinue reading “Review: “Africa’s World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe” – Gérard Prunier”
Review: “The Battle of Stalingrad” – Marshal Vasili Ivanovich Chuikov, Supreme Commander of Soviet Land Forces
With an estimated 2 million casualties, the Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle in WWII and one of the deadliest battles in the history of warfare. The battle was marked by fierce close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat, and direct air raids on civilians, a reality that was brilliantly depicted in the 2013 Russian film Stalingrad. HitlerContinue reading “Review: “The Battle of Stalingrad” – Marshal Vasili Ivanovich Chuikov, Supreme Commander of Soviet Land Forces”
Review: “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation” – Brian S. Roper
What are the origins of ‘democracy’? Are countries like the US, Canada, Britain, etc., democratic? In “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation,” Brian S. Roper examines liberal assumptions about the origins and essence of democracy using Marxist historical materialism. Roper begins by examining the system of participatory democracy in Athens and Rome and itsContinue reading “Review: “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation” – Brian S. Roper”
T. J. Petrowski 