Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine, 1921-1933 should be a mandatory reading for all diplomats in Ukraine and Peace Corps volunteers. There is something to be said about reading a book about Ukraine while living in Ukraine. Seeing the remnants of the USSR and the Soviet Union still apparent in the culture and language is heartbreaking. Stalin's paranoia (he thought Ukrainians were trying to start a revolution and was not loyal to him) of Ukrainian peasants caused him to go to extreme lengths with unimaginable degrees that lead to millions of Ukrainians deaths due to enforced famine.

This book describes the pain that Ukrainians has suffered by nations that wished and still wish to own Ukraine, instead of recognizing Ukraine as an independent country. There is so much to say about this book but I rather not ruin the book for you. What I will say is that the last chapter and the chapter about cannibalism caused me to so physically distraught that I need to take a break from the book.