Coming Out of the Ice

An Unexpected Life

By: Victor Herman

Narrated by: Christopher Hurt

Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1931, a young American named Victor Herman accompanied his parents to the Soviet Union, where his father was to set up a Ford Motor Company plant. In 1938, he was inexplicably thrown into a Soviet prison. It was 45 years before he was able to return to America.

His was a common nightmare during the Stalin years. Those who survived imprisonment and torture were either sent north to hard labor in the icy forests and mines or into exile. Victor Herman was one of the few who survived. During his life in and out of Russian prisons, he fell in love with a Russian gymnast, who followed him into exile. She lived with him and their child for a year in Siberia in a cave chopped out of ice. Theirs was a romance destined to thrive even under desperate conditions.

©1983 Victor Herman (P)1997 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Herman's tale is awful and heartening: awful that anyone should have undergone such things; heartening that he did and endured. This book is sure to take its place alongside Solzhenitsyn and Kessler's Darkness at Noon." (William F. Buckley Jr.)

This will leave you thankful

The raw confession of what this fellow went through is amazing. How can one leave through all this pain and remain unflinchingly resilient. This a good book. I became very thankful reading this book

Amazing story.

This book makes my worst day not look so bad. I'm in awe. Great book.

WOW. Just, WOW!!

What an incredible story, and fantastic narrator! This book isn’t for the faint of heart but read it anyway. It will change you. I’m so grateful to Mr Herman for putting his story down. It moved me. Put this in your wishlist or cart right now. You won’t regret it!

Unbelievable

Hard to believe

Amazing what humans can endure

Amazing what pain humans can inflict

This book reads like fiction

I enjoyed the narration

I spent most of the book being frustrated on the protagonists behalf. I spent most of the book wanting to throw the towel in on the protagonists situation
(If it had been me)…

What an insight into a state gone mad. Out of control
(Isn’t all of it) bureaucracy. How easy it is to fool people en masses, yet so impossible to make them believe they have been fooled.

If his accounts are true and authentic by even 15%, what a man Victor Herman was

unbelievable

I've never heard a more fine narrator in all of my listening to audible books. I've never heard of morphine narrator in all of my listening to audible books. This unbelievable and tragic horrendous tell that is full of Nightmare rush images is one of the most magnificent reads you will ever encounter. May God bless mr. Victor Herman and all those who showed him kindness and all those who were hurt alongside him in those times

amazing. riveting.

Perhaps the best non fiction book I have listened to and read by my favorite narrator.

The tragic fate of being a useful idiot.

Tragically an entire family suffered disaster because of the naivety and false optimism of one man.
The story is primarily about one man a son.
He suffered unimaginable cruelties under Soviet Communism.
The author's incredible firm principles got him into trouble in the schizophrenic Soviet state.
It was inspiring to read about his never give up attitude.

An incredible account of survival.

Don't let the first few pages of this audiobook dissuade you from getting into the meat of this incredible story. It starts out a little slow and maybe even odd, but soon enough it begins to flow smoothly with the unbelievable narrative of this man's life as a prisoner in the Soviet Gulag system.

Along with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archepeligo, OUT OF THE ICE, is another very damning first hand account of the inhuman cruelty of the Soviet Unions prison system.

Anyone wondering if socialism is a 'reasonable alternative' to western free market capitalism will gain valuable insight into the nature of man, when he's forced to operate in a system devoid of truth, justice, responsibility, merit or accountability.

This book isn't the least bit political, but calling it a 'cautionary tale' in 2023 is a severe understatement, as many young people have become enamored with the idea that Socialism is somehow more fair than Capitalism. This book sets the record straight about how fair the Soviet system was, and still is.

Absolutely love

I could not stop listening I loved it. if I ever have a bad day I'll just think of vic.

Captivating!

This book by far exceeded my expectations! It was one of the most interesting stories I've ever heard. I highly recommend this book. The reading of it was excellent, the content of it was excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed it