{"product_id":"anamerican-engineer-in-stalins-russia-zara-witkin-9780520071346","title":"An\/American Engineer in Stalin's Russia: The Memoirs of Zara Witkin, 1932-1934","description":"In 1932 Zara Witkin, a prominent American engineer, set off for the Soviet Union with two goals: to help build a society more just and rational than the bankrupt capitalist system at home, and to seek out the beautiful film star Emma Tsesarskaia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis memoirs offer a detailed view of Stalin's bureaucracy--entrenched planners who snubbed new methods; construction bosses whose cover-ups led to terrible disasters; engineers who plagiarized Witkin's work; workers whose pride was defeated. Punctuating this document is the tale of Witkin's passion for Tsesarskaia and the record of his friendships with journalist Eugene Lyons, planner Ernst May, and others.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWitkin felt beaten in the end by the lethargy and corruption choking the greatest social experiment in history, and by a pervasive evil--the suppression of human rights and dignity by a relentless dictatorship. Finally breaking his spirit was the dissolution of his romance with Emma, his \"Dark Goddess.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his lively introduction, Michael Gelb provides the historical context of Witkin's experience, details of his personal life, and insights offered by Emma Tsesarskaia in an interview in 1989.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Zara Witkin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0520071344\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780520071346\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of California Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/1991\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.66lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.27h x 6.32w x 1.32d","brand":"Zara Witkin","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43919935734015,"sku":"9780520071346","price":63.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_045a8e8e-49a6-4c9c-86a6-e77b0ff6cd0d.jpg?v=1680812723","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/anamerican-engineer-in-stalins-russia-zara-witkin-9780520071346","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}