LEADER 03740pam 2200733 a 450 001 9910495882603321 005 20230331015434.0 010 $a9780520351080 010 $a0520351088 010 $a9780585120522 010 $a0585120528 024 7 $a10.1525/9780520351080 035 $a(CKB)111004366704206 035 $a(MH)002229741-3 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000102049 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)12025807 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000102049 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10048698 035 $a(PQKB)10942901 035 $a(DE-B1597)569210 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780520351080 035 $a(OCoLC)1198930606 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC30772041 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL30772041 035 $a(OCoLC)1409032835 035 $a(Perlego)4258077 035 $a(EXLCZ)99111004366704206 100 $a19910321d1991 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||#|||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 13$aAn American engineer in Stalin's Russia $ethe memoirs of Zara Witkin, 1932-1934 /$fedited with an introduction by Michael Gelb 205 $aReprint 2020 210 1 $aBerkeley $cUniversity of California Press$dc1991 215 $a1 online resource (ix, 363 p., [6] p. of plates )$cill. ; 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 08$a9780520071346 311 08$a0520071344 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 343-354) and index. 320 $a"The films of Emma Tsesarskaia": p. 355. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tAcknowledgments --$tA Note on the Text --$tEditor's Introduction --$tTHE MEMOIRS OF ZARA WITKIN 1932-1934 --$tNotes --$tBibliography --$tThe Films of Emma Tsesarskaia --$tIndex 330 $aIn 1932 Zara Witkin, a prominent American engineer, set off for the Soviet Union with two goals: to help build a society more just and rational than the bankrupt capitalist system at home, and to seek out the beautiful film star Emma Tsesarskaia. His memoirs offer a detailed view of Stalin's bureaucracy--entrenched planners who snubbed new methods; construction bosses whose cover-ups led to terrible disasters; engineers who plagiarized Witkin's work; workers whose pride was defeated. Punctuating this document is the tale of Witkin's passion for Tsesarskaia and the record of his friendships with journalist Eugene Lyons, planner Ernst May, and others. Witkin felt beaten in the end by the lethargy and corruption choking the greatest social experiment in history, and by a pervasive evil--the suppression of human rights and dignity by a relentless dictatorship. Finally breaking his spirit was the dissolution of his romance with Emma, his "Dark Goddess." In his lively introduction, Michael Gelb provides the historical context of Witkin's experience, details of his personal life, and insights offered by Emma Tsesarskaia in an interview in 1989. 606 $aCivil engineers$zUnited States$vBiography 606 $aCivil engineering$xPolitical aspects$zSoviet Union 606 $aCivil engineers$zUnited States$vBiography 606 $aCivil engineering$xPolitical aspects$zSoviet Union 607 $aSoviet Union$xPolitics and government$y1917-1936 615 0$aCivil engineers 615 0$aCivil engineering$xPolitical aspects 615 0$aCivil engineers 615 0$aCivil engineering$xPolitical aspects 676 $a624/.092 676 $aB 700 $aWitkin$b Zara$f1900-1940.$01232698 701 $aGelb$b Michael$f1954-$01232699 801 0$bDLC 801 1$bDLC 801 2$bDLC 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910495882603321 996 $aAn American engineer in Stalin's Russia$92862208 997 $aUNINA