The Left Side of History: World War II and the Unfulfilled Promise of Communism in Eastern Europe

I am still reading it. Since I live in Bulgaria, and have to listen to old people dream of the Commie Day that supported them--I take it with a grain of salt. Communist Statism-following Ottoman Suzerainty, blighted and warped the Balkans--BUT nothing seems to eradicate the deep-down hatred that dominates all interactions. And, the current crop of politicians seem as corrupt and dedicated to personal enrichment as all past rulers. The people, on the other hand--accept as "This is the Way it Always Has Been and Always Will Be! Youngsters with ability just simply vote with their feet and move West and build better lives. Soon enough, they stop sending money home.I am finding the book to be VERY VALUABLE in understanding Post-WW II and Post Fall of the Wall events in Bulgaria! I recommend it highly for those researching Bulgaria and patient enough to use the research for further research. Good Writing and documentation.

LIttle by little, the world is coming out of the fog of the Cold War. So much of what has been written about communism and the wars that engulfed it has been sifted through the ideological filters of writers trying to condemn it or celebrate it. Such writings discredit themselves and do nothing for us but prolong the hatreds and tragedies of past eras. Kristen Ghodsee's The Left Side of History tells the story of World War 2 and its aftermath, or the Bulgarian part of it, with open eyes, giving credit where credit is due. She does not whitewash the crimes of the Nazis or the communists. She portrays the lives of people who accomplished a great deal for Bulgarians and whose legacy needs to be told and credited. She likens communism to Cassandra, the mythical prophet who was not believed and who was ignored. It is a great analogy for understanding the legacy of the socialist experiments that briefly ruled eastern Europe. Read this book if you have any interest in understanding this history and how it is influencing current generations.

i admire that this lady had the ability to learn slavic languages and communicate so well with the Bulgars. But I think she and her contacts were a little naive if they felt the transition to a market economy was going to be peaches and cream. She seems to imply that the true believers were making a go of it after the 70s when they established several grass roots organizations including women's groups. And of course the old days are always rosier in retrospect. You get the feeling they are all ready to submit to the yoke to be told which way to think and live again.She takes umbrage at the designation of outright fascists by the new states as victims of communism.But as Hayek instructed us, fascism and communism are only two facets of statist central control.

This excellent and deeply moving book tells the stories of Bulgarians who not only fought against fascism (Bulgarian and German), but also for something, a just post-war society. The interviewees speak directly to us, not about the black and white canvas on which the East-West contest usually painted, but about their daily lives, and the lives of their families and neighbors. I hope this book will inspire similar ethnographic study of other Eastern European counties, including Russia. And indeed of the United States, where the left-wing idealism silenced in the McCarthy era has yet to recover its voices.

Great read and it proves history is a bit more complicated than what people read in textbooks and one needs to see the good parts of everything, not just the bad. I live in Sofia and have had similar conversations with people.

don't recall ordering it

This is a very good book.

This is a book to read if you want to learn why communist movements arose, and who joined those. We learn the human dimension of these movements through the eyes of the people who dedicated their lives to making the world a better place and fighting (often for their very lives) the reactionary, frequently murderous rulers of the pre-war ancien regime.Elena Lagadinova had no choice but to become a partisan at age 14 when she barely escaped government thugs who burned down her family's house, ultimately becoming a research scientist, international advocate for women's rights and a prominent political leader — none of which would have been possible before the revolution. Yes, that revolution was perverted and eventually crumbled, but people like Lagadinova and her brothers never stopped striving to make life better for Bulgarians.Now the people who burned down houses, decapitated opponents, signed decrees that sent thousands of Jews to their deaths and aligned with Hitler are hailed as "victims of communism" while those who fought against these outrages are portrayed as monsters. The Left Side of History is a well-written and accessible correction to this distortion of history.