"What Alison Rowley in Open Letters does well is provide a welcome overview of the postcard industry and introduce a new visual source to Russian scholars as well as ways to interpret these images. For that we are all in her debt."
Christine Ruane, The Russian Review
"Open Letters is undoubtedly a valuable addition to the historiography of Russian popular culture of early twentieth century, which goes some way towards confirming the postcard as a significant cultural artifact both with and of history."
Andy Byford, Slavonic & East European Review
"This is an important and fascinating glimpse into the complementary construction of private lives and public assumption in late imperial Russia."
Louise McReynolds, Revolutionary Russia
"Intriguing and beautifully produced."
Alice Nakhimovsky, Slavic Review
"Entering the world of Russian postcards allows one to savor something of the times in which they circulated and to sample an occasional message from one person to another… This book will be warmly welcomed by historians and students interested in Russia."
Jeffrey Brooks, The Journal of Modern History
"Open Letters is a wonderful contribution to Russian history, rich in insights into popular culture and shedding new light on a host of topics of central concern to scholars in the field. In comparison to western scholarship, Russian historiography has been slower to delve into cultural history using such resources as postcards, advertising, and popular entertainment, and so Alison Rowley’s book is an important contribution to an emerging field. It will find an eager audience among Russian historians, as well as European and American historians interested in comparative approaches to cultural history."
Sally West, Truman State University
"Well-written and provided with fascinating illustrations, Open Letters is a major contribution to Russian history and cultural studies. The scholarship is very impressive: the author makes reference to a tremendously wide range of literary, artistic, and cultural sources dealing with all aspects of Russian life (and death), from gardens to pornography."
Jonathan D. Smele, Queen Mary, University of London
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