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Rating: 
Summary: Solid research, shocking accounts
Review: As an undergraduate in a modern Russian literature course, I read "Kolyma Streetcar" which was about an incident that ocurred on one of the "slave ships" which is documented in this book. As gruesome and disgusting as that account was, I had no idea that it was only the tip of the iceberg.For example, in "Stalin's Slave Ships," it is documented that:
1. The "Indigirka," a ship carrying around 1000 slaves to the icy domain of Kolyma, capsized off the Japanes coast, around 1939. Approximately 750 prisoners drowned. Many could have been saved, had the crew not been so hesitant to expose a big secret to the Japanese rescuers. Incidentally, the Indigirka was built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and was sold to the Soviets in 1930.
2. Many "lend-lease" ships lent to the Soviets by the US during WW2 (but never returned) were used as slave ships. Yes, US tax money helped finance the Soviet gulag system.
3. On one occasion, a riot broke out amongst the prisoners in the crowded hold on a slave ship. The guards quelled the riot using seawater-which in the Sea of Okhotsk at the time was at or below freezing. The ship arrived at its destination, Magadan, with a giant ice cube in its cargo hold, dead prisoners trapped within.
4. To relieve themselves while on these ships, prisoners had to use barrels, which often toppled over on the high seas. Many had to sleep on the floor.
5. While at port in Seattle, a slave ship was undergoing repairs for use in "lend-lease" shipments of supplies from the US to the Soviet Union, again, courtesy of the US taxpayer. Workers complained of foul odors coming from the hold of the ship. Of course, they did not know what these odors were from.
6. One source tells of a contingent of US prisoners of war, from World War 2, who were being sent to gulag labor camps. A cleaning woman in a camp risked her life (and ultimately lost it) by getting names of American POWs written down, to smuggle out of the country. The document was not discovered until recently, and it turns out that some of the badly mis-spelled names matched known US POWs.
7. Once at their destination, prisoners could expect a slow and cold death. One account documents a "procession of phantoms," "not human," heading for a boat in Magadan. Many were without noses, arms, legs. They were said to be taken out to sea and drowned. When temperatures go down to 50 below and prisoners are given inadequate shelter and clothing, severe frostbite takes its toll.
8. One account (from Solzhenitsyn) claims that several starving prisoners came across specimens of ancient creatures frozen in the permafrost, creatures like never before seen. What did the prisoners do? They "promptly ate them."
9. Some recent accounts tell of mass graves, tourguides even offering skulls and bones as souvenirs. Bollinger offers some very solid research in this book. There is no exaggeration of figures, and whenever questionable accounts are given, they are labeled as such. I hate to use the old cliche, "this ought to be required reading in schools" but it ought to be. Perhaps you will agree with me.
Rating:
Summary: Solid research, shocking accounts
Review: As an undergraduate in a modern Russian literature course, I read "Kolyma Streetcar" which was about an incident that ocurred on one of the "slave ships" which is documented in this book. As gruesome and disgusting as that account was, I had no idea that it was only the tip of the iceberg. For example, in "Stalin's Slave Ships," it is documented that:
1. The "Indigirka," a ship carrying around 1000 slaves to the icy domain of Kolyma, capsized off the Japanes coast, around 1939. Approximately 750 prisoners drowned. Many could have been saved, had the crew not been so hesitant to expose a big secret to the Japanese rescuers. Incidentally, the Indigirka was built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and was sold to the Soviets in 1930.
2. Many "lend-lease" ships lent to the Soviets by the US during WW2 (but never returned) were used as slave ships. Yes, US tax money helped finance the Soviet gulag system.
3. On one occasion, a riot broke out amongst the prisoners in the crowded hold on a slave ship. The guards quelled the riot using seawater-which in the Sea of Okhotsk at the time was at or below freezing. The ship arrived at its destination, Magadan, with a giant ice cube in its cargo hold, dead prisoners trapped within.
4. To relieve themselves while on these ships, prisoners had to use barrels, which often toppled over on the high seas. Many had to sleep on the floor.
5. While at port in Seattle, a slave ship was undergoing repairs for use in "lend-lease" shipments of supplies from the US to the Soviet Union, again, courtesy of the US taxpayer. Workers complained of foul odors coming from the hold of the ship. Of course, they did not know what these odors were from.
6. One source tells of a contingent of US prisoners of war, from World War 2, who were being sent to gulag labor camps. A cleaning woman in a camp risked her life (and ultimately lost it) by getting names of American POWs written down, to smuggle out of the country. The document was not discovered until recently, and it turns out that some of the badly mis-spelled names matched known US POWs.
7. Once at their destination, prisoners could expect a slow and cold death. One account documents a "procession of phantoms," "not human," heading for a boat in Magadan. Many were without noses, arms, legs. They were said to be taken out to sea and drowned. When temperatures go down to 50 below and prisoners are given inadequate shelter and clothing, severe frostbite takes its toll.
8. One account (from Solzhenitsyn) claims that several starving prisoners came across specimens of ancient creatures frozen in the permafrost, creatures like never before seen. What did the prisoners do? They "promptly ate them."
9. Some recent accounts tell of mass graves, tourguides even offering skulls and bones as souvenirs. Bollinger offers some very solid research in this book. There is no exaggeration of figures, and whenever questionable accounts are given, they are labeled as such. I hate to use the old cliche, "this ought to be required reading in schools" but it ought to be. Perhaps you will agree with me.
Rating:
Summary: Author's Correction
Review: I'm the author. I appreciate Raymond W. Jensen's kind remarks and his positive review of my book. A few mistakes crept into his review regarding the loss of the ship Indigirka in 1939. Let me correct them, just to keep the record straight: Indigirka was sold to the Soviets in early 1938 (not 1930) and it was returning from Kolyma, not traveling to it, when it ran aground. Thanks again for the review, Mr. Jensen. P.S.: Amazon forces me to rate my own book in order to post this. Therefore, please disregard my review of "5" as hopelessly biased.
Rating:
Summary: Author's Correction
Review: I'm the author. I appreciate Raymond W. Jensen's kind remarks and his positive review of my book. A few mistakes crept into his review regarding the loss of the ship Indigirka in 1939. Let me correct them, just to keep the record straight: Indigirka was sold to the Soviets in early 1938 (not 1930) and it was returning from Kolyma, not traveling to it, when it ran aground. Thanks again for the review, Mr. Jensen. P.S.: Amazon forces me to rate my own book in order to post this. Therefore, please disregard my review of "5" as hopelessly biased.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Researched Work
Review: This is a well researched book, relatively short with extensive appendix material on individual ships. It provides compelling evidence the US was duped into supporting the convict labor camps in Siberia. It isn't able to answer the question of whether of not people in the US knew this was happening, but some of the circumstantial evidence is, to say the least, intriguing. The only downside is that the author takes a scholary tone to the work which understates the dramatic elements of the story. But overall a fascinating tale, and very well documented.
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