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julessssss's review against another edition
2.0
this did not feel concise at all and it took so goddamn long to read
as a text in general, I did not think it was bad and if I were not on a deadline and exhausted by this point in the semester, I probably would've enjoyed it
as a text in general, I did not think it was bad and if I were not on a deadline and exhausted by this point in the semester, I probably would've enjoyed it
metamoragail's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Well written summary of a defining era in Russian history. Engaging for the general reader and helps to understand some of the factors that drive that culture.
libkatem's review against another edition
3.0
Perhaps not so concise after all, but a great read and very informative.
mulveyr's review against another edition
4.0
A very readable summary of the political and cultural events leading up to the Russian Revolution, as well as the internal workings of the Bolsheviks up until the Stalin era.
The text flows well, and the various supporting documentation supports the author's position. However, it's quite clear that the author has a distinct conservative bias ( at least as defined by contemporary Americans ) and that bleeds over into the book a little too frequently.
Overall though, it's well worth the time.
The text flows well, and the various supporting documentation supports the author's position. However, it's quite clear that the author has a distinct conservative bias ( at least as defined by contemporary Americans ) and that bleeds over into the book a little too frequently.
Overall though, it's well worth the time.
schwimfan's review against another edition
4.0
This book will give you exactly what it promises: a history of the Russian Revolution, concisely. There are moments which I wish were explored more but that was not the intention of this book. While I do appreciate that Pipes points out what he sees as the errors of other historians, at moments his editorializing undermined his points.
sophronisba's review against another edition
3.0
On the plus side, this book is well-written and well-researched. I learned a ton. On the minus side, though, Pipes does struggle with restraining himself from interjecting his own political opinions: by which I mean that he is conservative to the point of frequently sounding wistful for a tsarist autocracy. He also harbors a disdain for "intellectuals" which I found puzzling for someone with degrees from Harvard and Cornell. More puzzling still, at the end of a book spent fulminating against what the "intelligentsia" had wrought in Russia, he writes in the conclusion that "The less one knows about the actual course of the Russian Revolution, the more inclined one is to attribute a dominant influence to Marxist ideas." So it wasn't the intelligentsia's crazy ideas that caused all the trouble then? It sounds contradictory to me.
Still, I do recommend this book, with the qualification that it's not going to feel like a neutral narrative. I am at some point going to seek out another account that will balance out the scales a bit.
Still, I do recommend this book, with the qualification that it's not going to feel like a neutral narrative. I am at some point going to seek out another account that will balance out the scales a bit.
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