BOOK NOTES

An American volunteer's chronicle of service in Ivano-Frankivsk

"Journey to a Closed City with the International Executive Service Corps" by Russel R. Miller. St. Louis, Mo.: Science & Humanities Press, 2004. 230 pp. $16.95 ($25.95 for large-print edition).

"Journey to a Closed City" is a travel narrative that chronicles the author's experiences on a defense conversion project with the International Executive Service Corps assigned to Karpaty Amalgamation in Ivano-Frankivsk - a former Soviet "closed city" in the aftermath of the cold war.

Ivano-Frankivsk was designated as a Soviet "closed city" in the aftermath of the cold war because of the Russian ICBM batteries that were stationed in the nearby Carpathian Mountains, and secret defense plants situated inside its regional boundaries.

The assignment provided Mr. Miller with the opportunity to meet, and live with, many of the workers and, as noted by the author, "compassionately describe the challenges with which they were confronted during a difficult transitionary period."

While the book concentrates on Karpaty and the Ivano-Frankivsk area, it also describes the Carpathian town of Yaremche and the wartime activities of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), Kyiv and Babyn Yar, the lasting effects of Chornobyl, the suppression and resurgence of organized religion, and many other aspects of contemporary Ukrainian life viewed from the perspective of a retired American business executive.

The book also offers a description of the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) - generally referred to as the senior citizen's equivalent of the Peace Corps - providing the organization's mission, recruitment requirements, methods of operation, as well as a roster of dedicated volunteers.

Mr. Miller, a resident of La Grange, Ill., spent 20 years traveling to over 100 countries as senior vice-president of industrial development. Since retiring, he has served as an advisor with the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and the Vienna-based United Nations Industrial Development Organization, in addition to the IESC.

He is the author of two books on transition economies: "Selling to Newly Emerging Markets" and "Doing Business in Newly Privatized Markets," both published by the Greenwood Group.

Orders for "Journey to a Closed City" may be placed with Science & Humanities Press, P.O. Box 7151, Chesterfield, MO 63006-7151;by calling (636) 394-4950; or online at sciencehumanitiespress.com.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 7, 2004, No. 10, Vol. LXXII

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