Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s by Sheila Fitzpatrick.

Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s by Sheila Fitzpatrick. Hardcover book published 1999.

Everyday Stalinism.  Wow.  What does that mean?  When I read this title I keep thinking of the extraordinary Stalinism… not the everyday run of the mill Stalinism that we’ve all come to know and love…

OK, I’ve calmed down now.  This is another one of those titles that I look at and think about how incredibly interesting it is and even now as I write this, I think the same thing.  I just can’t help myself.  So when I see a title like this one, I pick it up and then inevitably have considerable trouble selling it.  There has to be someone interested in Everyday Stalinism or am I mistaken?  Stalin (and Stalinism) was a fairly big event as far as events go in the 20^th century.  Wasn’t he (it)?

I recently bumped into a fellow book dealer to whom I asked if they had found anything interesting recently.  The reply was that they had found a lot of interesting titles, but they had decided to concentrate on titles that would sell.  This statement keeps going through my head.  These are very wise words, but try as I might, I just can’t help myself.  Just like i can't help myself when i find a book on the History of Chocolate.  

Surely someone out there likes Chocolate… at least I would think there would be more people who prefer chocolate to Stalinism.  Although if you think about it, Stalinism… OK… Chocolate is more popular.  But if sales of these 2 titles is anything to go by, both Stalinism and Chocolate have both lost their flavours.  So I’ve got both of these books for sale at the moment, the question is which if any of them will sell.  I’ll keep you informed.