Gulag: A History of the Soviet Concentration Camps
Score Modern
What it's about
We know a great deal about the Nazi death camps, but far less about the vast network of Soviet labor camps that once stretched across Russia, from the White Sea to the Black Sea and from the Arctic Circle to Central Asia. Drawing on memoirs and newly opened archives, Anne Applebaum tells the full history of the Gulag: how it grew, how prisoners lived and died in it, and how it shaped the Soviet Union.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award. It's the definitive history of one of the great crimes of the 20th century.
You'll love it if you liked
The Gulag Archipelago, Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets or The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
Good to know
It's long and harrowing, but clearly organized, so it can be read in parts. The chapters on daily life in the camps are the most powerful.
Quick answers
Is Gulag: A History of the Soviet Concentration Camps worth reading?
Yes. It won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award. It ranks #295 of the 2,819 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 81.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Gulag: A History of the Soviet Concentration Camps about?
We know a great deal about the Nazi death camps, but far less about the vast network of Soviet labor camps that once stretched across Russia, from the White Sea to the Black Sea and from the Arctic Circle to Central Asia. Drawing on memoirs and newly opened archives, Anne Applebaum tells the full history of the Gulag: how it grew, how prisoners lived and died in it, and how it shaped the Soviet Union.
How long does it take to read Gulag: A History of the Soviet Concentration Camps?
About 15 hours (610 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Gulag: A History of the Soviet Concentration Camps won?
Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) winner (2004).
What should I read after Gulag: A History of the Soviet Concentration Camps?
If you liked it, try The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich or The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer.
By the numbers
- Readers73 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics86 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller12 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) winner (2004).
Where it ranks
- #54 of the 198 history books we rank
- #153 of the 1,575 modern books we rank
- #295 of the 2,819 books we rank
Won
- Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) winner (2004)
Shortlisted
- National Book Award (Nonfiction) finalist (2003)
- Baillie Gifford Prize finalist (2004)
Reads as
True story
More by Anne Applebaum
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