574 SEER> 87> 3> JULY2OO9 thatwhilethesetextsmightbe shaped by Sovietmentalities, the authors nonetheless keenlyfelttheir'statusas outsiders' (p. 175).Viola's positionis consideredand thoughtful: withoutdismissing the importance of concepts suchas re-education and re-forging, shearguesthatotherpriorities camefar higher on theregime's agenda. This studyof Stalin'sspecial settlements exposes a little-known topic, providing an accountthatis lucidand informative. It is also a moving work. In explaining thedevelopment ofpolicy, Viola iscareful nottoforget thatthis is a story aboutpeople'slives,and sheexplores thevictims' experiences with greatempathy. She alsoexamines thepersonal stories ofsomeofthemenwho wereinvolvedin therunning ofthe specialsettlements; without seekingto excusetheir actions, shetries toexaminetheir background andbeliefs, further highlighting someofthetensions and contradictions in Sovietpolicytowards 'class enemies'.As a result,thisis a highlysuccessful book thatis both intellectually stimulating and engagingly written. Department ofHistory MiriamDobson University of Sheffield Gorodetsky, Gabriel(ed.).Stafford Cripps inMoscow ig4O-ig42: Diaries andPapers. VallentineMitchell,Edgwareand Portland,OR, 2007. x + 253 pp. Illustrations. Notes.Biographical notes.Index.£19.50(paperback). StaffordCripps,theLabourParty iconoclast and British Ambassador tothe SovietUnion in 1940to 1942,has enjoyeda surgeofrenewedinterest since theendingoftheCold War. As GabrielGorodetsky, theeditorofthiscompilation ofCripps'sdiary-letters and selected correspondence, points outinhis introduction, much of thisinterest has revolvedaround Cripps'sattempt to injecthis liberalChristian faithintothe politicsof his time.According to Gorodetsky, thepost-ColdWar fascination withCrippsreflects popular yearnings fora 'prophetic vision'in an age thatis 'devoidof spiritual and ideological governance, marked bypoverty ofvision, and driven bytheelusive forces ofglobalization' (p. 1). Such yearnings may indeedexplaintheappeal ofrecentCrippsbiographies .Apartfromitsintroduction, Gorodetsky 's compilation, however, providesrelatively little newinformation on thisdimension ofCripps'slife-work. The compilation does includesome diaryentries thatillumine hisreligious politics, and manyentries shednew lighton Cripps'sideologicalmake-up, especially hislove-hate relationship withSovietCommunism. Butthebulkof materials includedfallsstrictly withintherubrics ofAnglo-Soviet relations, Second WorldWar powerpolitics, and thevicissitudes ofplanningforthe post-war order.All in all, thedocuments selectedforma highly usableand often revealing addition tothepublished materials thatarecurrently available to scholars. The collection is composedmostly of Cripps'sdiary-letters written while on his missionto Moscow. These are supplemented by selections fromhis reviews 575 correspondence withhiswife, otherfamily members, and keydomestic allies suchas SirWalterMonckton, as wellbythediary(nowpublished forthefirst time)thatCrippskeptwhileon a mission to Turkeyin February 1941.SelectionsfromForeignOfficepapers ,fromLady Cripps'sdiary,and fromthe 'extraordinarily candidand revealing diary'(p. 18)ofIvan Maiskii,theSoviet Ambassadorto Britain, roundout whatis a truly wide-ranging attempt to contextualize Cripps'swartime politics. Gorodetsky's compilation includes significant newmaterials thatexposethe highly nuancedand contradictory viewsthatCrippsentertained oftheSoviet regime and itsideology. These materials assistinmaking senseoftheLabour PartyLeftand theSocialistLeague ofthe 1930sand the1940s.On theone hand,members ofthesegroupsinsisted thatdiplomatic and traderelations withtheSovietUnion werein thebestinterests ofall ofEurope,and they wereconsistently celebratory oftheSovietregime(inCripps'swords)as 'the triumphant saviour ofallthatweprofess toupholdinourdemocracy' (p. 229). On theotherhand,despitehisconsistent championship oftheunitedfront, Cripps'sdiary-letters exposehighly realistic assumptions aboutStalin'ssearch fornationalaggrandizement, and severalentries bemoantheSoviets''often crueland undesirable ways'and thesystem's 'gravedefects' (pp. 64-66). From theselatterruminations, the editorderivesthe rathersimplistic conclusionthatCrippswas not a 'fellow-traveller' (p. 6). A morequalified appreciation wouldseemto be calledfor,givenCripps'srepeatedinsistence thatthe'one thing'aboutSovietCommunism 'thatseemstome tobe vitalis notthemethods'(p. 66). According to Cripps,whatwas important was the Soviets'fight against'effete civilization' and fora 'newworld'(pp.69-70)that recognized the'hopelessness of [the]liberalcapitalist regime'(p. 145).Their experiment, he toldhimself, wouldinevitably 'redoundmoretotheadvantage of themassesof thepeople' (p. 66). These kindsof statements expose the ideologicalunderpinnings of Cripps's thinking that predisposedhim to supporting theSovietregimeand system. The ideological promptings ofCripps'sactivities arefurther exposedinthe diary-letters thatdescribehislongbattleagainstWinstonChurchill's grand strategy. From the Beaverbrook missiononwards,the diary-letters show a manutterly convinced thattheonlywayto assurepost-war cooperation was to make wartimeconcessionsover Baltic and Finnishborders,on supply and thesecondfront, and neverto act inwaysthatcouldappearto confirm theSoviets''old suspicions' (p. 188)aboutWestern anti-Communism. Werea comprehensive 'treaty ofpostwar collaboration' (p. 198)notnegotiated while theSovietsstillneededWesternassistance, Crippswas convincedthatthey wouldgrabwhatever theywantedonce victorious. This claim,ofcourse,is based on ideologicalassumptions thatcannotbe testedor proven.However, in bringing out sucha clearargument fortherevisionist case on theorigins oftheCold Waras Stafford Cripps'sdiary-letters contain, GabrielGorodetsky has done a service to all whostudy and pondertheseissues. Department ofHistory Markku Ruotsila University ofTampere ...