Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
"Twilight, even remembered twilight, is better than no light at all."
This book made me feel things I can't express in words.
This book made me feel things I can't express in words.
Thorough and novel-esque retelling of the Russian Revolution from January to October 1917. It falls somewhere between beginners and intermediate level and is presented as a more open minded look at Bolshevism, its successes and ultimate failures. Definitely a stark contrast to the Cold War era anti-Russian sentiment I grew up with and pretty eye opening as a result. Timely subject matter and worth a read.
The writing can get too pasional sometimes. Also, it doesn't have bibliography which is very important if you want to use it for any research. Besides that, it's a good book for readers who usually don't read about history.
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
bit historical and complicated generally - couldn't keep track of all the names and committees etc - but the red october chapter was superb and did make me reflect on whether the rev necc led to stalinism (I still dk tho lol)
informative
medium-paced
Gorgeous language. Engaging prose. A recanting of a major historical event through the eyes of a fictional expert. The work moves like an engaging story as opposed to dry non fiction.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I thought I would be upset at this book because of the author's bias or because the author isn't a historian, but honestly I was just bored. The author promises to tell the Russian Revolution as a story, and I figured that even if the facts weren't presented well or accurately, it would at least be interesting. Instead, it was so boring I couldn't even finish the book. I am pretty interested in the Russian Revolution, but not quite interested enough to spend hours contemplating the infighting of various leftist factions and their various meetings. Also, although this promises to be an introduction for those who don't know much about the revolution, I wouldn't count on it as one. Large numbers of people are perfunctorily introduced and the reader is then expected to remember them. Since the focus is on the factions of the left, and particularly the Bolsheviks, many events are described briefly (or not at all) and without the context that would make them fully comprehensible.
There are plenty of excellent books about the Russian Revolution for all levels of interest. This isn't one of them.
There are plenty of excellent books about the Russian Revolution for all levels of interest. This isn't one of them.
challenging
inspiring
slow-paced