OUR ALLY, THE PEOPLE OF RUSSIA

A misleading, and certainly at this time dubious title for the story of an American engineer who spent many years in Russia between 1930 and 1942 at the invitation of the Soviet during the years when they were attempting to introduce American methods and machinery in their plants. His story of his first three years there, which forms the main part of the book, features many of the known facts about life within the Soviet; the many shortages and inadequacies; the prevalent propaganda; the general attitude of distrust and the ever-present G. P. .; the many difficulties in householding with the ever-increasing food problem. Spending a year in Siberia in the interim, Wood returned to Russia in 1937, the year of terrorization, trials and purges; went back a third time in 1941 but returned home after Pearl Harbor. There in little that is not generally known here, but the details of this wide-scale conversion and mechanization, of the people known, and the problems faced have a narrative interest.