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Rating: 
Summary: A increadible tale of one man's bravery in Soviet prison
Review: An inspiring book in which Natan Sharansky tells of his struggle against the KGB and the power of the Soviet police state. I found myself amazed at the courage that this young, physically small man exhibited when faced with the full fury of the KGB. His intellectual battles with his interogators and his remarkable stamina during hunger strikes in support of fellow prisoners are memorable. The whole book helped me to put the small struggles of life in perspective, emphasizing the importance of following ones principles, yet having in mind the small magnitude of ones problems compared to the historic ones faced by refuseniks like Mr. Sharansky. -Michael Good
Rating:
Summary: Great inspiration and a great lesson.
Review: It's hard to believe that one person could morally and intellectually defeat the KGB all by himself, to preserve his identity and his integrity despite all odds. There are many lessons for our everyday life that one can learn from this book. I recommend it very highly.
Rating:
Summary: Great inspiration and a great lesson.
Review: It's hard to believe that one person could morally and intellectually defeat the KGB all by himself, to preserve his identity and his integrity despite all odds. There are many lessons for our everyday life that one can learn from this book. I recommend it very highly.
Rating:
Summary: Spirit Triumphant
Review: Sharansky's autobiography is one of the most compelling works of literature that I have read. This is literature - it made me pause to think and reflect on what he said frequently, and my copy is well-thumbed. The story is of a spiritual journey, as the young Sharansky's awareness of his Jewishness de-Sovietizes him and leads him into the Gulag - willingly, as he forknew the risks of protesting Soviet emmigration policy. His voluntary civil disobedience seperated him from his bride, Avital, physically for a decade, but the growing intensity of the spiritual forces working within and through him bonded them ever more securely. The moral courage demonstrated by one of the most celebrated of the Refusniks is evident on nearly every page. The spiritual uplift that Sharansky found came from his faith, and from reading the classics, one of the few liberties permitted him in the Gulag. (Looted libraries and personal collections left the prison system well-stocked for this purpose.) The comments on how he was encouraged by his encounter with Aristophanes, when he understood the connection between himself and a character in a 2,500 play through a joke that he finally 'got,'are among the most uplifting in the book. Sharansky recounts how that joke opened a floodgate in his mind, through which came pouring the voices of Rabelais, Cerevantes and other great classics, reminding him of his humanity and the ways of man. The climatic chapter, "The Interconnection of Souls," should be re-read many times. -Lloyd A. Conway
Rating:
Summary: Spirit Triumphant
Review: Sharansky's autobiography is one of the most compelling works of literature that I have read. This is literature - it made me pause to think and reflect on what he said frequently, and my copy is well-thumbed. The story is of a spiritual journey, as the young Sharansky's awareness of his Jewishness de-Sovietizes him and leads him into the Gulag - willingly, as he forknew the risks of protesting Soviet emmigration policy. His voluntary civil disobedience seperated him from his bride, Avital, physically for a decade, but the growing intensity of the spiritual forces working within and through him bonded them ever more securely. The moral courage demonstrated by one of the most celebrated of the Refusniks is evident on nearly every page. The spiritual uplift that Sharansky found came from his faith, and from reading the classics, one of the few liberties permitted him in the Gulag. (Looted libraries and personal collections left the prison system well-stocked for this purpose.) The comments on how he was encouraged by his encounter with Aristophanes, when he understood the connection between himself and a character in a 2,500 play through a joke that he finally 'got,'are among the most uplifting in the book. Sharansky recounts how that joke opened a floodgate in his mind, through which came pouring the voices of Rabelais, Cerevantes and other great classics, reminding him of his humanity and the ways of man. The climatic chapter, "The Interconnection of Souls," should be re-read many times. -Lloyd A. Conway
Rating:
Summary: ONE MAN AGAINST THE KGB
Review: This book lends incredible insight into the life of a Russian Refusenik under the oppressive Soviet system. Sharansky's mental tricks that sustained him during his years of horrific incarceration as well as his genius and amazing memory impressed the hell out of me.Learning how one man could take on the KGB and outsmart, outwill, and outlast them is a truly uplifting experience.
Rating:
Summary: ONE MAN AGAINST THE KGB
Review: This book lends incredible insight into the life of a Russian Refusenik under the oppressive Soviet system. Sharansky's mental tricks that sustained him during his years of horrific incarceration as well as his genius and amazing memory impressed the hell out of me. Learning how one man could take on the KGB and outsmart, outwill, and outlast them is a truly uplifting experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating and Uplifting
Review: While not the best written thing I've ever read, it is one of the most interesting and uplifting stories of personal triumph over evil that I've encountered. An excellent portrayal of man's inhumanity to man, on the one hand, and on how evil can be defeated on the other.
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