Night of Stone

'[An] extaordinary and important book...Night of Stone is an admirable attempt to bridge the gulf in perception which still divides Russia and the West.' The Economist; 'Beautifully and simply written, [Night of Stone] is full of extraordinarily vivid glimpses of the past...This enthralling book...successfully sheds light on...a "beautiful but tortured culture".' The Times; 'No study of 20th-century Russia can avoid consideration of the questions that this book raises.' Independent on Sunday; 'This is a superb book. [Merridale] writes with real flair and passion, and is clearly more than a standard academic observer of her subject...the argument is worth reading not only because it is unexpected, but also because it goes a long way to explaining the infamous, albeit vaguely defined, Russian capacity for 'endurance'. Literary Review; '[Night of Stone: Death and Memory in Russia is] an ambitious, broad-reaching...tightly woven account based on scores of interviews.' The Moscow Times; '...an epic and moving history.' The Observer; 'An original and intriguing study of death and attitudes to death in 20th century Russia.' Antony Beevor, The Independent; 'A sharply focused history of modern Russia [and] a compelling, emotionally engaged exploration of mentalities. What lingers is Merridale's humility and sensitivity in her deployment of evidence, her fusion of painstaking scholarship and personal inquiry, her questioning intelligence and her obvious passion and admiration for this "beautiful but tortured culture." The Irish Times; 'This majestic oral history should be required reading for anyone wanting to understand the Russia of today...No short review can do justice to the picture which emerges from this riveting narrative.' Michael Church, The Independent