Stalin and the Scientists: A History of Triumph and Tragedy, 1905-1953 - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802127592 ISBN 13: 9780802127594

Synopsis

Longlisted for the The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2016

An epic story of courage, genius and terrible folly, this is the first history of how the Soviet Union's scientists became both the glory and the laughing stock of the intellectual world.

Simon Ings weaves together what happened when a handful of impoverished and underemployed graduates, professors and entrepreneurs, collectors and charlatans, bound themselves to a failing government to create a world superpower. And he shows how Stalin's obsessions derailed a great experiment in 'rational government'.

About this title

Review

In Stalin and the Scientists, Simon Ings has produced one of the finest, most gripping surveys of the history of Russian science in the twentieth century. Deeply researched and written with a sense of burning importance, Ings' book ranges widely from politics to philosophy, from economics to biography to recount the monumental successes of Russian scientists and the Soviet state's Mephistophelean embrace of the scientific community. It is a fascinating work that both inspires and terrifies. (Douglas Smith, author of Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy)

A dazzling, often astonishing prism through which to view the Soviet experiment. (Peter Pomerantsev)

Ings has a gift for making complex scientific questions intelligible ... he paints a picture of Russia ravaged and contaminated by gigantic and idiotic attempts to change nature, and then concludes by pointing out that the entire world is now replicating Stalin's abominations, to the detriment of our planet. (Literary Review)

An artful synthesis of basic science and political infighting (Daily Telegraph)

Ings tells his story with vigour ... [the] array of scientists, philosophers and politicians is matched by [an] impressive range of topics ... from Gregor Mendel's genetics to Boris Hessen's "Socio-economic Roots of Newton's Principia"; from Ivan Pavlov's conditioned reflexes to Lev Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology. (New Statesman)

[A] great book ... a vast tapestry of Russian history from the mid-19th century, when many of the scientists who feature were born, to after Stalin's death. (Scotland on Sunday)

[Stalin and the Scientists] tells what happens to science and scientists when the demands of revolution and the vagaries of intellectual investigation collide ... a fascinating read. Well researched and written in a lively and engaging style, it grips like a good novel. (Sunday Business Post)

[A] great book ... a vast tapestry of Russian history from the mid-19th century ... to after Stalin's death. (Scotsman)

The half century-long saga chronicling the relationships of [Stalin] and 'his' scientists, both tempestuous and grotesque, is a tale that should be known to all who value freedom and creativity, particularly modern scientists and engineers. By bringing back to life the tragic careers of many a Soviet scientist - Vavilov, Michurin, Kapitsa, Korolev and Vernadsky, to name just a few - Ings shows clearly that although fear of the tyrant can trigger a certain degree of conformist creativity, it eventually backfires and becomes not just scientifically counterproductive, but perilous and even lethal . This book, resplendent with tragedy and pain, is not devoid of a satirical touch . [a] brilliant book. (Engineering & Technology Magazine)

[An] ambitious ... thoroughly researched book ... the discussion is well informed and lively, with clear explanations for the general reader of the scientific (and ideological) issues involved. (BBC History Magazine)

Book Description

From acclaimed SF and non-fiction author Simon Ings comes a fascinating secret history of Soviet science.

Edition details

• ISBN 10: 0802127592
• ISBN 13: 9780802127594
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English