Moscow Stories

On his first trip into the Soviet Union, in 1960, Graham had to walk through the Finnish woods with his luggage after he was kicked off a train because his papers weren't in order. That's par for the course in this fascinating book recapping more than 40 years of visiting the Soviet Union and, later, post-Soviet Russia. Graham introduces a host of eccentric characters: the widow of a top Soviet official killed by Stalin; an American who fit into Soviet society because of his rumpled clothes and love of Russian dumplings; and a Georgian who cuts open a can of fish with his teeth as he and Graham share vodka. But the characters Graham encountered as a student and academic (he's a professor of the history of science at MIT) are only part of the story. These essays also depict the absurdities, both humorous and painful, of life in the Soviet Union. He recounts having to sneak back into the residence of the American ambassador in Moscow during one visit, how he was visited by the FBI and recruited by the KGB. Not only are the stories captivating but they are also well told: Graham's that rare academic who knows how to write for a popular audience. 13 b&w photos. (Apr.)