Add nearly thirty years of the loosening of Soviet society. Mix in nearly ten years utilizing the newly available Soviet archives (where some things were fortuitously misfiled!), memoirs, newsreels, over seventy personal interviews with family and friends, and extensive books and articles, along with visits to the important places in Khrushchev’s life. The bibliography runs 31 pages!
All these facts could have been amassed and related by any number of Soviet experts. The genius of Taubman’s book lies in the story. First, it is eminently readable whether you are a Soviet expert, one who came of age during Khrushchev’s reign, or just coming to the history of this period. We know how the story ends; he even starts at the end to remind us where we are going. Yet, it is Taubman’s skillful interweaving of the basic facts with a powerful psychological interpretation (written in a common, easily understood language) of what created Khrushchev:
All these facts could have been amassed and related by any number of Soviet experts. The genius of Taubman’s book lies in the story. First, it is eminently readable whether you are a Soviet expert, one who came of age during Khrushchev’s reign, or just coming to the history of this period. We know how the story ends; he even starts at the end to remind us where we are going. Yet, it is Taubman’s skillful interweaving of the basic facts with a powerful psychological interpretation (written in a common, easily understood language) of what created Khrushchev:
Khrushchev’s tragedy was that the path of power ultimately made demands upon him that he couldn’t meet, and others he shouldn’t have, with the result that in his desperate search for respect he ended up lacking respect for himself. Asked at the end of his life what he regretted, he mentioned the fact that “I had no education and not enough culture….So I acted inconsistently; I kept rushing about this way and that. I offended many good people….They supported me, and look how I treated them in return.
In the Preface, Taubman states, “…his life holds a mirror to the Soviet age as a whole. Revolution, civil war, collectivization and industrialization, terror, world war, cold war, late Stalinism, post-Stalinism – Khrushchev took part in them all.”
Let me illustrate one example of why writing history is difficult. We all know that “history” depends on the memories of people who were present and wrote down their version of what happened (some times years afterwards) or told their stories to a third party. Memory is not precise. I distinctly remember seeing film (long before video tape) of Khrushchev banging his shoe on a table at the United Nations.
In the Preface, Taubman states, “…his life holds a mirror to the Soviet age as a whole. Revolution, civil war, collectivization and industrialization, terror, world war, cold war, late Stalinism, post-Stalinism – Khrushchev took part in them all.”
Let me illustrate one example of why writing history is difficult. We all know that “history” depends on the memories of people who were present and wrote down their version of what happened (some times years afterwards) or told their stories to a third party. Memory is not precise. I distinctly remember seeing film (long before video tape) of Khrushchev banging his shoe on a table at the United Nations.
I have no doubt that I saw the film. But, here is an abridgement of what Professor Taubman says in a note on page 657.
Both the New York Times and the Washington Post reported that Khrushchev banged his shoe on October 12, 1960. Others confirm this. However, James Feron, a young reporter for the Times, says it did not happen. Feron says that he “never banged his shoe.” Taubman goes on to say, “Moreover, efforts to find films of the incident have proved unavailing.” Still photos show Khrushchev holding his shoe; yet a UN staff worker claims he did not even take his shoe off, that he was too fat to reach his foot. Taubman has “adopted the view that the shoe was not only brandished but banged.” This first note takes up the first 28 lines of text in what ends up being 134 pages of notes to issues raised or sources noted in the text. What will future historians do now that every picture can be altered so easily?
So, then, how “true” is Khrushchev: The Man and His Era? It is as accurate as Professor Taubman could make it. His research has the added value of being filtered through and vetted by a distinguished career studying and analyzing the Soviet Union. History itself tells us that more information always comes to light.
Both the New York Times and the Washington Post reported that Khrushchev banged his shoe on October 12, 1960. Others confirm this. However, James Feron, a young reporter for the Times, says it did not happen. Feron says that he “never banged his shoe.” Taubman goes on to say, “Moreover, efforts to find films of the incident have proved unavailing.” Still photos show Khrushchev holding his shoe; yet a UN staff worker claims he did not even take his shoe off, that he was too fat to reach his foot. Taubman has “adopted the view that the shoe was not only brandished but banged.” This first note takes up the first 28 lines of text in what ends up being 134 pages of notes to issues raised or sources noted in the text. What will future historians do now that every picture can be altered so easily?
So, then, how “true” is Khrushchev: The Man and His Era? It is as accurate as Professor Taubman could make it. His research has the added value of being filtered through and vetted by a distinguished career studying and analyzing the Soviet Union. History itself tells us that more information always comes to light.
Taubman has clearly set the bar high for future examinations of Khrushchev’s life and times. It will take a brave (foolhardy?) research to attempt a full-scale biography in the foreseeable future. Examinations of limited aspects of Khrushchev’s life are more likely.
If you grew up in the fifties and sixties as I did, you will relish the opportunity to read and re-learn about the Hungarian Revolt, the Berlin Crisis, the UN shoe incident, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. If it is an era you know little of, you will find this book a treasure.
If you grew up in the fifties and sixties as I did, you will relish the opportunity to read and re-learn about the Hungarian Revolt, the Berlin Crisis, the UN shoe incident, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. If it is an era you know little of, you will find this book a treasure.
