Robert Conquest (1917 - 2015) was one of the twentieth century's greatest historians of the Soviet Union. He came to international renown on publication of his ground-breaking history The Great Terror- Stalin's Purge of the Thirties in 1968, which revealed the true extent and nature Stalin's political executions and imprisonments. As well as holding academic posts at various universities, including the London School of Economics, Columbia University and Stanford University, he was an acclaimed poet, critic, novelist and translator.
This narrative is even more dreadfully surreal, more astoundingly alien, than that of The Great Terror -- Martin Amis Massive and devastating ... The Harvest of Sorrow reveals the truth about the dreadful years as fully and unflinchingly as Mr Conquest's The Great Terror presented it about Stalin's later crimes * The Times * Majestic ... The detachment of Conquest's telling adds to the story's horror and its effectiveness * Sunday Times * A harrowing story, told with great power and a wealth of detail * Evening Standard * The first thoroughgoing account of the tragedy ... heartrending * Telegraph * Essential reading for those who wish to understand the nature of the Soviet system * Wall Street Journal * It is to Robert Conquest's undying credit that he has at last brought this incredible story into the light of day * Spectator *