Once upon a time, children, there was a big boat. This big boat transported oil across the Caspian Sea, so Uncle Joe and the rest of the Kremlin could meet the needs of the Great Soviet State. But all was not well, because the crew of the big boat was sad. They weren't efficient. The equipment wasn't efficient. And everyone was sad, especially the Captain, who had flashbacks to the Civil War. (That's the Russian Civil War, children.) But lo and behold, a fairy godfather, in the form of Stakhanov, started to inspire the crew, along with a true Bolshevik of a crew member, and the performance of the ship began to turn around, in spite of the sad captain and another rascally mate. And just as the first chapter foresaw, the crew of the big boat was able to become heroes by rescuing the crew of another big boat that had a bad accident. And the plan was fulfilled, and all lived happily ever after in a Socialist Realist Land. If you haven't guessed by now, this book is laughably cardboard in its plotting and characterization, and is little more than a commercial for the Stakhanovite movement, which was a big thing when this book came out in 1938. So were the Purges, which makes you wonder what's going to happen to the captain and that rascally mate. This particular edition, the Penguin edition, came out in the middle of the war. (There's a story that the head of Penguin wanted the author to sign a copy, not realizing the author died in 1941, as a war correspondent covering the Russian armies defending Kiev. Ooops.) I suppose that was an effort to cash in on the love-affair with things Russian at the time. The book does not hold up well. Not recommended, unless you want an insight into the 1930s and 1940s mindset. ( )