ABANDONED. Nonfiction Book dealing with experiences of an American or Canadian living/working in USSR in 1980's

[Kris]

I'm searching for a book I recall reading a few years ago that dealt with the experiences of a man (I believe he was a photographer but I could be wrong in that regard) as he was working in the Soviet Union in the late 1970's/ early 1980's.

In general the book was very anti-Soviet and criticized many of the policies that the author gave examples of from his firsthand account. It did not feel like a true biography by any means, more of a piece designed to cast light on the USSR citizen's mentality and how the author saw it as enfeebling the population.

I'll say too that it wasn't very political, it dealt more with the "common man" rather than high grade statesmanship.

One particular scene I recall is when the author is meeting with a group of high school kids and the pen that he is taking notes with breaks in the middle of note taking. One of the teachers criticizes the students for trying to defend the manufacture and being fine with the poor quality of the worksmanship of this pen since it was made in the USSR, saying that they should be critical of the things they live with and not accept poor quality.

[Kris]

Kris, please post a new comment if you're still looking for this book - or if you found it.

Kris (OP) was last active on the site in August 2020. Moving to Abandoned folder.