Warning to the West Paperback – September 1, 1986

This collection of speeches shows the speaker to be a prophet-a man ahead of his time. His words could not be more true then they are today. One example:...Europe today? It is nothing more than a collection of cardboard backdrops, all negotiating with each other to see how little can be spent on defense in order to leave more for the comfort of life.”This is well worth the read for any American concerned about what is happening within our borders through the progressive and communist leaning administration and leadership in 2021.

Nothing to dislike. I bought this to replace a copy from many years ago. I treasure it!He left America and I do not blame him.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn was one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Here in Warning to the West, Mr. Solzhenitsyn alerts American and British audiences that “totalitarianism is coming.” As the author posits, the grand irony is that greater government control seduces the masses into thinking that “the State will save us” when in reality, it is the beast that will devour them. The hope is that the burden of slavish materialism can be shaken off by giving free reign to the spiritual life inherent to all human beings.Speaking as a former prisoner in the Soviet gulag, the author contemplates the West’s future by looking back and seeing what happed in Russia’s past repeating itself in the then-present day (the 1970s). Solzhenitsyn’s words grab your ear with both hands and stir the soul. The most chilling aspect of his prophecy is that he describes the dominating “spirit of the age” with precision. History has therefore become a dutiful expositor of his words. So, for example (cf. pages 103 and 130), 50 years ago Solzhenitsyn explained the newspaper headlines of 2021: political upheaval, lionization of violent revolutionaries, cancel culture, shallow discourse and a pervasive lack of meaningful conversation.The author’s hypothesis is that the root cause behind the rise of totalitarianism is godlessness: in a world in which I am sovereign, I stand for nothing because my ultimate concern is the god in the mirror. I am indifferent to my neighbor and the world around me; just give me high-speed Wi-Fi and a cushion for my feelings.At the end of this work, the reader comes to the conclusion that Mr. Solzhenitsyn is not a critic of the West but a critic of its weakness: that is, because we have made so many concessions and compromised on objective truth, the evils that we have both committed and recklessly ignored have matured and come back to consume us.The hope that Mr. Solzhenitsyn leaves his readers with is how to combat the violence of State control: with firmness. The State will yield the “Big Lie” but the people must stand firm and live the truth by constantly saying, “Not one step further.” For such a time as ours, this book is must-read. Be forewarned and therefore forearmed.

I stumbled across this book with an Amazon "suggestion ". It is a collection of speeches that Solzhenitsyn gave to union members. It's purpose is to describe the threat to the western nations from the communist movement. He knows of what he speaks. It is a frighteningly accurate description of what is happening in the US today. A shocking book that should be required reading.

The book briefly touches on the horrors of the Silvia commas R. and its dangers if they considered you a “enemy of the state“. This could simply be a trifle as looking out your window as the secret please beat up another innocent citizen.The main impact of the book is the warning to the western world that they were beginning of that same sinister system in our own countries.

This does NOT have the Harvard address. I does have 2 speeches to labor unions, which prove that Solzhenitsyn identified with blue collar folk. One speech is to the US Congress, one on the BBC, and one interview. All worth reading.

Product was as advertised and it came in a timely manner.

He is not with us any more, but like most really great authors, he still is talking to us from his tomb.Nobody listens because everybody is busy making money and living "la dolce vita". In my country they used to say "the Revolution is like a callous: you only feel it when they step on it". That's what always happens in communist societies. You may be the best "comrade" of them all, but as soon as the revolution takes something away from you, then you become a "contra". People don't read and, therefore, are ignorant from History. Because History ALWAYS repeats itself.