A Texas Greenhorn in Berlin and Moscow, 1928: Travel Diary of Joseph S. Werlin & History Lessons from My Father, 2019
by Joseph S Werlin, Joella Werlin
Joseph Werlin’s diary pages are full of remarkable observations of France, Germany, Russia, and America in 1928. Allowed into Moscow on a study visa, Werlin’s keen eye for observation and documentation provides firsthand insight into the early days of Stalinist rule. During his travels, Werlin refers to himself as a “greenhorn,” acknowledging his innocence as a first-time international traveler and recording his memories with a student’s youthful eagerness. Together with Werlin’s diary, his daughter, Joella Werlin, has compiled correspondence, news articles, and other historical documents to reveal her father’s life story, as well as a rare insight into European, Russian, and American history.
—Joseph Werlin received his PhD in Russian history from the University of Chicago and later became Professor of Sociology at the University of Houston.
—Joella Werlin, his daughter, develops this story and reveals his life as it turned out.
Reviews / Testimonials:
“Joseph Sidney Werlin visited Weimar Germany and Soviet Russia in 1928 to better understand the origins of the Bolshevik revolution . . . . What he saw was a continent in transition, with a vibrant Jewish life and democratic politics in Germany, a militarized society and culture in Poland, and radical social reforms in Russia. His intelligence and curiosity, professional training, and personal background as a second-generation Jewish American made him a keen observer and commentator . . . .
Lovingly prepared by his daughter and featuring unique personal documents and archival materials, this book invites its readers to join Joseph Werlin on a fascinating intellectual journey.”
—Alexey Gobulev, PhD
Assistant professor of Russian history
University of Houston
“The book seems to have something for every history buff: Russia, Germany, Mexico, Judaism, anti-Semitism, the Depression of the 1930s, academic life under the constraints of political turmoil. The correspondence between the writer and his fiancée adds additional validity . . . and is imbued with warmth and passion.
. . . [Werlin] captured very well the dark and tumultuous years of post-NEP Moscow: the squalor, the housing crisis in the city, the misery of communal living, the pitiful state of the citizens, the introduction of cooperatives, the treatment of the Russian Jews. He projects effectively the image of the country ravished by the October Revolution . . . .
Joseph Werlin said, ‘It will not be easy for me to forget my first impression of Moscow.’ It will be equally hard for me to forget my impressions of reading his diary!”
—Dr Rima Greenhill
Stanford Humanities Center Fellow (2019-20) and Senior Lecturer in Russian Language
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Stanford University.
Paperback and eBook:
ISBN: 9781989467114 (ebook). $9.99 CDN, $9.99 US. Available via Amazon Kindle.
Distribution in the UK via Gazelle Book Services