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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
A book about the Russian Revolution and the internecine struggles that made it, but also about contingency in history. “Let us try to find at some point of history such a branch line, a blind track onto which to shunt these illegal events. There is nothing to fear” (319).
I do think the emphasis on narrative and chronology overwhelms the writing a bit—I wanted more sketches of life in Petrograd beyond the Tauride Palace.
I do think the emphasis on narrative and chronology overwhelms the writing a bit—I wanted more sketches of life in Petrograd beyond the Tauride Palace.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.5 stars. A ton of information here about 1917, but I definitely left with more questions than I started with. The book can be confusing at times with it's huge cast of characters and constantly changing political bodies. I never quite figured out the political differences between the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, SRs, left militants, etc (not to mention the different wings within each party). But for the most part I think the confusion is more an accurate reflection of the time than any fault on the part of the author. One of the things that surprised me most was that many of the most famous Russian leftists were marginal players for most of the events here. The revolution truly was driven by the people. The politicians were just along for the ride.
It's hard to miss the parallels to the founding of America–Lenin and Washington, both of who string together loss after misstep after loss, only to win out in the end and find deification in death they never sought in life; dreams of a political utopia, with founding principles that both countries fail to live up to almost immediately. Given those principles, and knowing what the future would hold for the USSR, it read as tragedy every time a decision took them further away from the path toward a multiparty socialist democracy.
It's hard to miss the parallels to the founding of America–Lenin and Washington, both of who string together loss after misstep after loss, only to win out in the end and find deification in death they never sought in life; dreams of a political utopia, with founding principles that both countries fail to live up to almost immediately. Given those principles, and knowing what the future would hold for the USSR, it read as tragedy every time a decision took them further away from the path toward a multiparty socialist democracy.
A very illuminating read. Mieville dies an admirable job of keeping the action moving, even when it's mostly rhetorical jostling. Found it especially interesting to try and slough off a century of simplification or propaganda about the Russian Revolution. The horrors of the rest of Russian history in the 20th century do not dissipate upon doing that, of course. But it does let one see a figure like Lenin as more than the bloody inaugurator of totalitarian.
informative
sad
slow-paced
Overall a very fun and informative ready. if absolutely devoid of citations for verification. However, the terrible epilogue reeks of the author's particular sectarian bent and retroactively colors the rest of the book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
Well written, gripping while dense, the names though russian were actually tenable. Super interesting, insane, dysfunctional as fuck. Loved the month by month chapter setup
A wild ride. Very focused, simply on 10 of the most pivitol monthes of the 20th century. As I said to Luke, a lot of the Russian history of the revolution I've consumed has a faded glamour aspect of the tsars, so it was interesting (if challenging!) to read such a straunchly opposed one. Like many history books, it occasionally got to be a bit of a slog in the middle, but the acceleration at the start and towards the end more than compensated
informative
reflective
medium-paced