The gripping human story of how American volunteers fought famine in Bolshevik Russia, saving Lenin's revolutionary government from chaos and millions of people from starvation. In 1921, after six years of unrelenting war and revolution, Russia was in ruins. The economy had collapsed and starvation claimed the lives of millions. People were so desperate for food that there were reports of cannibalism, reports that were revealed to be horribly accurate. In The Russian Job acclaimed historian Douglas Smith tells this gripping story that shines a bright light on the untold story of how American volunteers saved millions of Russian lives. 'These young men come to life in Smith's book, flickering past like characters in the black-and-white movies of the era . . . Clear, forceful, and compelling, The Russian Job tells us what happened and who made it happen.' LA Review of Books __ 'Brilliant, disturbing and at times horrifically graphic . . . an important story that needed to be told. A fast-moving and most compelling read.' Helen Rappaport, author of Four Sisters