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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
October: The Story of the Russian Revolution - 3.5/5
A dense, well written account of Russia's February and October 1917 Revolutions, alongside a narrative of how the first transformed into the second. Mieville is obviously very passionate about the subject (as the fact that he took the time to write a book about it can attest) and he makes clear his biases right at the beginning. He is a Marxist and he does not try to disguise the fact that he is very sympathetic towards the various Socialist and Communist parties that play a part in the events.
However, broadly, he still tells the story of both Revolutions as fairly as he can, focusing in on the failings of each government that ultimately resulted in the Revolutions which threw them out, and the Civil War brewing against the new Socialist order as October closes. Initially we follow the Tsar's administration as it swept away by under the weight of public anger, replaced by the bickering between, and within, both the Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet.
Some of the most interesting material covered though comes when the narrative leaves the streets of the Petrograd and gives brief looks in at what is happening in the rest of Russia. Learning a little about the All-Russian Muslim Women's Congress in Kazan, the political struggles under the shadows of oil derricks in Baku or the steady radicalisation of the Latvian Soviet in Riga brought home that this Revolution was not solely a Petrograd one but encompassed the entirety of Russia's Empire.
Overall, an engaging, well told history of the Russian Revolutions, clearly written with care and, whilst it is partisan in places, it doesn't fall fully into a Bolshevik apologist piece. Worth a read if you're interested in a critical moment in not only Russian but world history.
A dense, well written account of Russia's February and October 1917 Revolutions, alongside a narrative of how the first transformed into the second. Mieville is obviously very passionate about the subject (as the fact that he took the time to write a book about it can attest) and he makes clear his biases right at the beginning. He is a Marxist and he does not try to disguise the fact that he is very sympathetic towards the various Socialist and Communist parties that play a part in the events.
However, broadly, he still tells the story of both Revolutions as fairly as he can, focusing in on the failings of each government that ultimately resulted in the Revolutions which threw them out, and the Civil War brewing against the new Socialist order as October closes. Initially we follow the Tsar's administration as it swept away by under the weight of public anger, replaced by the bickering between, and within, both the Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet.
Some of the most interesting material covered though comes when the narrative leaves the streets of the Petrograd and gives brief looks in at what is happening in the rest of Russia. Learning a little about the All-Russian Muslim Women's Congress in Kazan, the political struggles under the shadows of oil derricks in Baku or the steady radicalisation of the Latvian Soviet in Riga brought home that this Revolution was not solely a Petrograd one but encompassed the entirety of Russia's Empire.
Overall, an engaging, well told history of the Russian Revolutions, clearly written with care and, whilst it is partisan in places, it doesn't fall fully into a Bolshevik apologist piece. Worth a read if you're interested in a critical moment in not only Russian but world history.
Narrative history at its best. This is an astonishingly good book. The epilogue was especially moving.
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
An engaging, month-to-month breakdown of the Russian revolution of 1917, by one of my favorite writers. Miéville is better known for his weird fiction (if you haven't read Perdido Street Station, you're missing out), but he's also a PhD in international law, and a Marxist. I was curious to read a leftist's history of the revolution, rather than the "COMMUNISM BAD!" shit that we get in the US education system, but while he admits his bias, he does a really good job of presenting the history impartially. Add to this the distinct tone of his writing, and you have an excellent read.
informative
medium-paced
October - the month - isn't usually among my favorites of each year. The progressive lack of natural light is quite unhelpful and I never expect much from it.
October - the book - was a surprise. Not that I didn't expect it to be good, I did, but it became one of my favorite reads ever. The audiobook is exceptionally narrated.
October - the story - was fascinating, both in and of itself and as one compares it with the myth and its frequent retelling and exploitation. The Russian revolution(s) of 1917 are the most human of stories, setting up needs and despairs against expectations and fears from the peasant through the merchant and the aristocrat up to the tsar. Not only that, but it shows how those historical events one so often learns about as simple, teleological, straightforward, are nothing of the sort.
October is a lesson for humankind. One can find many mistakes, many dreadful intended and unintended consequences, many indecisions, coincidences, incoherence. But one can find light. October is not necessarily followed by fall and winter. It may have been, this time around, but there is much hope in this myth, in this story, that one could have gone - or can one day go - from darkness to light. One one looks, some of the seeds of good things planted in 1917 are still around.
October - the book - was a surprise. Not that I didn't expect it to be good, I did, but it became one of my favorite reads ever. The audiobook is exceptionally narrated.
October - the story - was fascinating, both in and of itself and as one compares it with the myth and its frequent retelling and exploitation. The Russian revolution(s) of 1917 are the most human of stories, setting up needs and despairs against expectations and fears from the peasant through the merchant and the aristocrat up to the tsar. Not only that, but it shows how those historical events one so often learns about as simple, teleological, straightforward, are nothing of the sort.
October is a lesson for humankind. One can find many mistakes, many dreadful intended and unintended consequences, many indecisions, coincidences, incoherence. But one can find light. October is not necessarily followed by fall and winter. It may have been, this time around, but there is much hope in this myth, in this story, that one could have gone - or can one day go - from darkness to light. One one looks, some of the seeds of good things planted in 1917 are still around.
Exactly what I needed, excellent starting point, with a bias I am amenable to.
I need to make the companion graphic for this to help me to really understand the scope of the geography and timeline.
I need to make the companion graphic for this to help me to really understand the scope of the geography and timeline.
Honestly a lot of this went over my head because I lacked some background knowledge on the russian revolution. Still fun, would read again but only after giving myself that foundation.
The most entertaining way to read up on the Russian revolution i'm sure.