Alexander Solzhenitsyn

One of the most significant works ever to emerge from Soviet Russia, «One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich» is both a graphic picture of World War II work camp life and a testimony to the human spirit.

From the icy blast of reveille through the sweet release of sleep, Ivan Denisovich endures. A common carpenter, he is one of millions viciously imprisoned for countless years on baseless charges, sentenced to the waking nightmares of the Soviet work camps in Siberia. Even in the face of degrading hatred, where life is reduced to a bowl of gruel and a rare cigarette, hope and dignity prevail. This powerful novel of fact is a scathing indictment of Communist tyranny, and an eloquent affirmation of the human spirit.

One of the most chilling novels ever written about the oppression of totalitarian regimes — and the first to open Western eyes to the terrors of Stalin's prison camps, this book allowed Solzhenitsyn, who later became Russia's conscience in exile, to challenge the brutal might of the Soviet Union.