Lisa Cook on Racism, Patents, and Black Entrepreneurship

In *Buried in the Bitter Waters*, Elliot Jaspin meticulously documents the history of racial cleansing in America, revealing how swift and violent expulsions of black populations occurred across the country, particularly during the period between Reconstruction and the Depression era. The book highlights how these events have left lasting impacts on the racial geography of America, with many areas remaining predominantly white to this day.

The novel, set during December 1949, takes place in a sharashka near Moscow, a research facility where prisoners, including scientists and engineers, work on secret projects for the Soviet government. The story follows characters like Lev Rubin, Dimitri Sologdin, and Gleb Nerzhin as they navigate the complexities of their privileged yet oppressive environment. The title alludes to Dante's 'Inferno,' where the first circle of Hell is limbo, reflecting the relatively better conditions but moral limbo of the prisoners. The novel delves into themes of conscience, moral imperative, and the struggle to retain human dignity within a totalitarian system. Solzhenitsyn's work is semi-autobiographical, drawing from his own experiences in the gulag system.