"The Triple Whammy" and Other Russian Stories

An American historian, film specialist, and documentary filmmaker shares candid stories of his life in Russia during and after the Cold War.

A captivating lifetime of personal and professional experiences by an American historian, film specialist, and documentary filmmaker in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. The author’s experiences as a radical in the turbulent 1960s, and his eventual disenchantment offer some precedents and perspectives to all those on the Left, Center, or Right interested in the fluctuations of American politics. The vivid log of hopes and disillusions is related in a candid, non-academic style, and set against a panorama of history and politics in the late twentieth century.

“A self-described scholar-activist, Menashe weaves together political, intellectual, and cultural currents of leftist life, and draws a vivid picture of people and places, life-changing adventures, the intellectual and political challenges of graduate school during the Cold War, encounters with key Russian literary and political figures, and much more. Then comes the crash, the Soviet Union’s end. As in all failed love affairs, Menashe retains some sweet memories. The reader will taste them long after reading the memoir.” —Carole Turbin, Professor Emerita, History and Sociology, SUNY/Empire State College