‘It remains a tragedy too little known. Applebaum’s book, compelling in its detail and in its empathy with those who suffered, will do much to remedy that ignorance’ Nick Rennison, Sunday Times
‘I recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand what is happening in Ukraine and Russia today’ Victor Sebestyen, New Statesman
‘The definitive version … Red Famine balances erudite analysis of political processes at the top with fluent storytelling about their impact on ordinary people … a compelling book’ Gavin Jacobson, Financial Times
‘A vivid narrative, which conveys the horror of this crime against humanity … the story of the cover-up is one of the finest chapters in the book. It lays bare the regime’s lies and manipulations of the census records, and exposes the naivety of foreign visitors … an impressive book’ Orlando Figes, Daily Telegraph
‘Coruscating … a devastating account’ Melanie McDonagh, Evening Standard, Books of the Year
‘What better way to celebrate 100 years since the Bolshevik coup than this horrifying book on where it all led’ Daniel Finkelstein, The Times, Books of the Year
‘Anne Applebaum has pillaged archives open since the fall of the soviet union to show… that the starvation of four million Ukrainians in 1932–33 was a deliberate policy’ Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year
‘Anne Applebaum has written an exhaustive, authoritative and eloquent book. She deals with questions that have hitherto lacked unequivocal answers’ Donald Rayfield, Literary Review
‘Red Famine, superbly researched and written, shows how blind adherence to ideology can bring murder most foul’ Ian Thomson, Tablet
‘A richly detailed history … Applebaum has painstakingly mined a vast array of sources, many of which were not available when the historian Robert Conquest wrote his pioneering history … it is a reminder of the lengths that demagogues will go to in order to suppress or distort the truth’ Adam Hochschild, The New York Times
‘Powerful … With searing clarity, Red Famine demonstrates the horrific consequences of a campaign to eradicate “backwardness” when undertaken by a regime in a state of war with its own people. What has come to light, and what Ms Applebaum synthesises in lucid and vigorous prose, is a devastating circumstantial case’ Economist
‘Lucid, judicious and powerful … The argument that Stalin singled out Ukraine for special punishment is well-made … An excellent and important book’ Anna Reid, Wall Street Journal
‘Applebaum chronicles in almost unbearably intimate detail the ruin wrought upon Ukraine by Josef Stalin and the Soviet state apparatus he had built on suspicion, paranoia, and fear … gives a chorus of contemporary voices to the tale’ Steve Donoghue, Christian Science Monitor
‘Chilling, dramatic … In her detailed, well-rendered narrative, Applebaum provides a ‘crucial backstory’ for understanding current relations between Russia and Ukraine. An authoritative history of national strife from a highly knowledgeable guide’ Kirkus Reviews