From the Publisher
"Boeck displays his wide range of knowledge of the Soviet Union and delivers an insightful, gripping, squirm-inducing portrait of a great author who loyally served his government--perhaps too loyally." --Kirkus Reviews
"Excellent. Boeck has written more than a biography of a single writer; he also grants us unexpected insights into the minds of two of the most important Soviet leaders."--Robert Chandler, The Financial Times
"A provocative and sympathetic new biography. No small achievement." --The Washington Post
The Russian Review
An important and stimulating book.
Los Angeles Review of Books
Boeck relates with Dostoyevskian verisimilitude the psychological agonies Sholokhov must have endured at the time. Sholokhov’s struggle to stay true to his vision in an atmosphere of blinding darkness is the theme of Boeck’s riveting political biography. To his great credit, Boeck himself is never blind to Sholokhov’s profound flaws or to the fact that his struggle was largely doomed from the start. Insightful and compelling.
Robert Chandler
Excellent. Boeck has written more than a biography of a single writer; he also grants us unexpected insights into the minds of two of the most important Soviet leaders. I hope that Boeck’s book will help bring back our attention to a remarkable novel.
Washington Post
A provocative and sympathetic new biography. No small achievement.
Wall Street Journal
[Stalin’s Scribe] tries to explain how Sholokhov lost the conscience he once had. Mr. Boeck observes insightfully that faking one’s accomplishments and constructing a false identity were hardly offenses unique to Sholokhov.
