A lovely review by Oana Uiorean in Liber →

“The political moment is again open to systemic change, after decades of fragmentation of the struggle. Who are today’s Red Valkyries? Some of them are in the US, fighting for racial justice in the streets or doing squad work in Congress on behalf of exploited populations. Others are in Latin America, mobilizing people for feminist strikes, for safe and legal abortion, and against the violence of international finance institutions. In Europe, they lead struggles for housing justice. In occupied Palestine, they stand up to apartheid. We may not know their names, but we don’t need to. One doesn’t have to be a communist to understand that no individual brings about fundamental changes alone. Successful revolutions are the sum of collectives coming together and doing the work”

Pre-Publication Review of Red Valkyries in Library Journal

Ghodsee packs a punch in her short volume focusing on five different Red Valkyries. Resistant to the label “feminist” because of its close association with the western liberal feminist agenda, Ghodsee explores her socialist women activists one by one, tracing their lives and work as they respond to some of the most significant Russian and world events of the 20th century. As an expert in her field, she deftly covers vast amounts of history, political theory, and complicated personal relationships in an accessible way for all levels of informed readers. She invokes a large body of research, which can be seen in the extensive notes section and the “suggestions for further reading” pages. But her prose is never too academic, and the little-known stories of the women are captivating. The Red Valkyries’ accomplishments, in everything from record-breaking sniper kills to the formation of several political institutions for women’s emancipation, help challenge narrow views of what it meant to empower women in the twentieth century. Ghodsee ends the book with nine overarching lessons to take from the women’s lives, which helps reframe their efforts for today’s activists. 

VERDICT A timely and fascinating volume for those interested in Russian and socialist history. 

Reviewed by Halie Kerns , Jun 01, 2022

A new review of Taking Stock of Shock →

Architects of socialism built the Berlin Wall, symbolizing political unfreedom. When it fell, new walls emerged. Architects of neoliberal capitalism have built walls made of precarity and inequality, limiting what Eastern Europeans could do with their newly gained freedom. Scholarly walls separating disciplines inhibit us from correctly gauging the post-socialist landscape. Ghodsee and Orenstein’s new book, Taking Stock of Shock (Oxford University Press, 2021) breaks down these disciplinary walls and presents the most comprehensive assessment of the post-socialist transformation yet.

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A nice review in the weirdest of places... →

I honestly have to admit that I never in my life thought anything I wrote (or even co-wrote) would receive a positive review in The American Conservative : Helen Andrews, “Making Sense Of Red Nostalgia” July 13, 2021

Andrews clearly understood the message the of the book and appreciated our critique of the Clinton policies of the 1990s. About the only point where I disagree with is her is her characterization that this is somehow my book. It was fully co-authored with my wonderful colleague at Penn, Mitchell A. Orenstein, with the invaluable help of our research assistant, Nicholas Emery, who is now a Ph.D. student in Political Science at UCLA.