It's been a while since I last picked up this book and it has become one of the books that I always plan to finish but probably never will. It gives a deep insight into life in the Soviet Union under Stalin, but the statistics, the descriptions, the details assault the reader with so much horror and despair that I found it (so far) impossible to finish even book one in the series. In short: I think it's an important book that is definitely worth reading - if you can bring yourself to read through it.