1920 Diary

Title: 1920 Diary
Author: Isaac Babel
ISBN: 9780300070545
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 1997
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Edition: Reprint
Number of Pages: 184
Publisher Description: The Russian writer Isaac Babel (1894-1940) is acknowledged to be one of the great masters of 20th century literature, hailed as a genius by such critics as Lionel Trilling and Irving Howe. The work for which he is best known is a cycle of stories called Red Cavalry, which depicts the exploits of the Cossack cavalry during the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920 and is based on Babel's experiences as he rode with the Cossacks during the campaign. Babel kept a diary during this period, in which he recorded the devastation of the war, the extreme cruelty of the Polish and Red armies alike towards the Jewish population in the Ukraine and Eastern Poland, and his own conflicted role as both Soviet revolutionary and Jew. The 1920 Diary was a vital source for Red Cavalry as well as a compelling narrative.