Reddit mentions of What Is History (Penguin History)

Thanks for doing this legwork. I appreciate it.

The Wikipedia page on this guy alone is a big read. I've skimmed some of it, and here are the sections that I found alarming:

> Carr argued that within the context of the Soviet Union, Stalin was a force for the good.

also,

> In Carr's opinion, if a historical event such as the collectivisation of Soviet agriculture in the early 1930s led to the growth of the Soviet heavy industry and the achievement of the goals of the First Five Year Plan, then the collectivisation must be considered a progressive development in history, and hence all of the sufferings and millions of deaths caused by collectivisation, the "dekulakisation" campaign and the Holodomor were justified by the growth of Soviet heavy industry.

and

> Labedz noted it only after 17 years after the first volume of the History of Soviet Russia series was published did Carr criticize Stalin in volume 8 of the series, albeit only once and in a veiled form.

also

> In A History of Soviet Russia, Carr paid more attention to relations between the Soviet Union and Outer Mongolia than to the Kronstadt mutiny, which Carr gave only a few lines to under the grounds that it was unimportant

I'm having trouble finding it, but I may be able to slip into a local college library and have better luck. Also his book "What is History?" sounds like an interesting read. I guessing that's where the predominance of people describing good as "progressive" and bad as "reactionary" comes from. I'm interested in understanding Marxism better, and that looks like a good place to start.

I've done some research, and this statement

> Labedz went on to argue that Carr's decision to end the History of Soviet Russia series at 1929 reflected not the lack of documentary material as Carr claimed, but rather an inability and unwillingness to confront the horrors of Stalin's Soviet Union.

Suggests the reason I can't find the volume that deals with the Holodomor (1932–1933) was because he didn't write one. He did write The Twilight of the Comintern, 1930-1935 - is that what you were thinking of? It looks like I can get it used for less than five bucks with shipping. I'm still going to be disappointed though if it doesn't give the Holodomor more than a few sentences.