"...by far the best entry into the Soviet industrial scene, from above and from below, presented with remarkable competence and good judgement...[Siegelbaum] helps us understand the organization of labour and problems of stimulation; we learn about norm setting and shop-floor foremen; we get a good historical overview of forms of labour organization and 'socialist competition' through the decade that interests him and we should commend him, in particular, for his knowledge of the labour process in the coal mines where Stakhanovism was invented." Moshe Lewin, Labour/Le Travail

"A short review cannot do justice to the subtlety of insight in evidence throughout this book. In this work, Siegelbaum is generous in his praise of scholars who have influenced him. One can only conclude that Stakhanovism and the Politics of Productivity will itself undoubtedly become a model for future practitioners of Soviet labor history. William B. Husband, The Russian Review

"In this fine study, Professor Siegelbaum tells the story of Stalin's ultimately successful attempt to raise productivity sufficiently to enable the country to defend itself. Warmly recommended." Virginia Quarterly Review