Most people don't realize that The Gulag Archipelago is not historically accurate fiction; it is not a novel about Communist Russia at that time. What it is is a record of what went on during the trials and in the camps. The main difference between the full ie. unabridged and the abridged versions is the former has a lot more details in terms of who and when. I haven't tried to read it but apparently it's a terrible slog and really mostly of interest and value to people who were personally connected to those events. The abridged version is on my table but I'm still a few books away from starting it. To be honest I'm a little nervous over the prospect.