Soviet Jewish history, 1917-1991 : an annotated bibliography /

In the preface to this work, Martin Gilbert praises its compiler's "thoroughness" and "devotion." Luckert's introduction summarizes the complex history of Soviet Jewry and outlines the scope of her bibliography, which contains 1,446 annotated items drawn from materials "published in 10 different countries and in 10 different languages." The book's ten sections are arranged chronologically: Introductory and reference works; Revolution and the early years of the Soviet Union; The Stalin period; Jewish revival and emigration and Israel; Soviet Jewish communities abroad; The Soviet Jewry issue abroad; Gorbachev and glasnost; Special topics; Jews in Soviet intellectual and cultural life. If present trends continue, more archival, primary, and secondary materials will emerge. Subsections on Jewish contributions to Soviet music and belles lettres seem sparse; there is little on the contribution to Soviet achievements in sports; material from English-language newspapers is omitted; and there is an author but no subject index. Luckert's unique bibliography is, however, a remarkable achievement in documenting a major phase in Jewish, Soviet, and world history. Highly recommended to all libraries seriously interested in 20th-century history and contemporary affairs. W. Baker; Northern Illinois University