Tag: Soviet Union

soviet union cover

Back in the USSR

Spanning the Globe 4 comments

Soviet Union
Jackson
1980

The Cold War was turned up to 11 when this book was published, and this text reflects that tension. It is more of a middle school textbook than a country book like those common in public library youth nonfiction collections. (See our Spanning the Globe category for some examples.) I’m going to guess that this was probably a rogue donation, because textbooks aren’t a usual item in a public library collection. You will be happy to know that this was still in circulation as of this writing.

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soviety union until 1984

Soviets in the 1980s

Spanning the Globe 11 comments

Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?
Amalrik
1981; revised and expanded edition

Having a date as part of the title automatically limits its shelf life. Even if the title just said “Will the Soviet Union Survive?” probably could have bought more time on a shelf. Having said that, these books do have a place in a university or archival collection. Public libraries, on the other hand, would probably be better retiring this and replacing with historical retrospectives.

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soviet union opposing viewpoints

Pros and Cons of the Soviet Life

But it's Historical!, Spanning the Globe 13 comments

The Soviet Union
Opposing Viewpoints
Bender and Leone, ed.
1988

All of a sudden I have a bunch of Soviet Union material from the 1980s. The Opposing Viewpoints series of books is practically a staple of youth/teen nonfiction collections. In 1988, this would have been a great choice. The Cold War dominated news of the 1970s and 1980s. Brezhnev’s death in 1982 marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. So this little book was published at one the most interesting times in history. For the most part, there is a discussion on policies such as human rights, women’s equality, and government.

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