A Whole Empire Walking

Gatrell's scholarly study is based on archival and other sources and includes 72 pages of endnotes. It stresses analysis rather than narrative and reflects the influence of postmodern thinking indebted to Michel Foucault. In a useful appendix on population statistics, Gatrell suggests that the total number of refugees in Russia by mid, 1917 was more than seven million. The author is especially interested in the social identities of refugees, how they perceived themselves and were viewed by others, including military and civilian authorities. He emphasizes that few refugees were able—bodied men; one of his chapters deals with refugees and gender. He also examines the special refugee circumstances of nationalities such as the Armenians, Jews, Latvians, and Poles. Besides endnotes, the work also contains maps and interesting photographs. Recommended for academic and large public libraries. Smaller libraries should first make sure they possess Critical Companion to the Russian Revolution, 1914, 1921, ed. by Edward Acton et al. (CH, Apr'98), which contains 67 essays on a wide range of subjects, including one by Gatrell that succinctly presents many of the conclusions spelled out in greater detail in his new book. All levels.July 2000

-- W. G. Moss * Eastern Michigan Universi