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Inscribed first edition --- From the leading dissident of the Soviet era to a prominent Cold War broadcaster: an inscribed example of the first edition of one of the most celebrated works of twentieth-century Russian literature. Signed by Solzhenitsyn for Sam Yossman (1946-2023), a Jewish �migr� journalist and writer who worked for the BBC Russian service for 20 years, broadcasting under the name Sam Jones. He interviewed many leading figures and was "known throughout the Soviet Union for his rock music program on the Russian service called 'Babushkin Sunduk', or Grandma's Hope Chest, still remembered by millions in the former USSR" (Lithuanian Jewish Community). Subtitled "an experiment in literary investigation," Solzhenitsyn's epic work blurs the boundaries of historiography and novel-writing, as the Nobel Prize-winning author draws on his own experience of eight years in the Gulag (the acronym stands for "Main Directorate of Correctional Labour Camps") followed by internal exile, for criticising Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. He also weaves his narrative from the personal testimony of fellow inmates and a plethora of legal and personal documents. As historian Roy Medvedev writes: "I believe there are few who will get up from their desks after reading this book the same as when they opened its first page. In this regard I have nothing with which to compare Solzhenitsyn's book either in Russian or world literature." Solzhenitsyn worked on The Gulag Archipelago from 1958 to 1968, but held back from attempting to publish it until his hand was forced by the KGB's discovery of a copy of one of his typescripts in 1973.A microfilm had been sent to the West a few years earlier and after the discovery of the typescript in Moscow, he ordered the YMCA Press in Paris to go to print in order to forestall any possible machinations by the KGB. This is the first complete, regular edition, published from 1973 to 1975, after Volume 1 appeared by itself in a limited run of around 200 copies earlier in 1973. Publishers in the West raced to produce translations of this literary bombshell, with English and French versions of Volume 1 appearing as early as 1974. Provenance: Sam Yossman (inscription by the author dated May 1983, in black pen on the epigraph page of Vol. 1; acquired directly from Yossman's estate). Physical description:Three volumes. 8vo (19.3 x 13.6 cm). Vol; 1: 606 pp. incl. quotation leaf, title and dedication leaf, and [1] leaf t.o.c. with printer's imprint to verso; vol. 2: 657 incl. first blank, title and portrait, t.o.c. leaf, leaf 'achev� d'imprimer', and blank leaf; vol. 3: 581 incl. first blank, title and portrait, t.o.c. leaf, leaf 'achev� d'imprimer', and [3] blank leaves. Publisher's illustratedwrappers. Condition:Wrappers faded as often, vol. 2 spine with some creases, otherwise in fine condition, fresh internally. Bibliography:Butina & Nosov 57; Lithuanian Jewish Community, "I'm a BBC Patriot," www.lzb.lt, 25 Feb., 2016; Mathew 18; Medvedev, R. 1974. "On Solzhenitsyn's Book The Gulag Archipelago," Soviet Studies in Literature 10 (3): 44-62; RNB Solzhenitsyn 16.

The Gulag Archipelago is a three-volume, non-fiction work by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn that was first published in 1973. It covers the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system. The extensive work combines historical research, Solzhenitsyn's own experiences as a Gulag prisoner, and the testimonies of other inmates to describe the brutalities of the Gulag.