One American Jesuit was there when Lenin and Stalin disemboweled Christian Russia. Now, his towering masterpiece is back, after 75 years. When Fr. Edmund Walsh, SJ, first crossed from Latvia into Soviet Russia on the night of March 21, 1922, the Russian people were suffering an appalling famine engineered by their Communist masters. As director of the papal relief effort, Fr. Walsh would spend the next several years traveling the Red empire, not only seeing the horrors of Communism firsthand, but also interviewing countless witnesses and investigating numberless sources about the events that had brought about Communism's triumph. The result was an historical narrative of unparalleled vigor, immediacy and accuracy. Upon its publication in 1928, critics could scarcely contain their excitement - one declaring: It is impossible to lay the book aside. Further excerpts from two (of many) significant reviews: If by any possible chance one opens it, or glances into the first chapter, one will surely read it from cover to cover. For Father Walsh tells 'the story of the triumph of folly in Russia and the penalty she paid for that historic madness' with such a wealth of dramatic incident, such a swing of brilliant narrative, that the most exciting novel seems dull in comparison. The book is the story of what is, perhaps, the greatest tragedy in the world's history since the supreme tragedy of the Redemption - a tragedy from which there has been no Resurrection. Though individual parts of the story of Russia's downfall have appeared in considerable number, no one has told the entire tale with the tremendous perspective this book affords. That Father Walsh was able to get this perspective is due in part to his own experiences in Russia.... This searching investigation leads him to a number of interesting, in some cases startling, conclusions. - America Magazine A clear and unbiased picture of the personalities and maj, ISBN13: 9781929291311 ISBN10: 1929291310 Material Type: hardcover

Edmund A. Walsh