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Summary:
The Russian Revolution had a decisive impact on the history of the twentieth century. Now, following the collapse of the Soviet regime and the opening of its archives, it is possible to step back and see the full picture of this event for the first time. Impeccable in its scholarship and objectivity, this superb volume tells the gripping story of a Marxist revolution that was intended to transform the world, but instead visited enormous suffering on the Russian people, and, like the French Revolution before it, ended up devouring its own children. The author offers insightful descriptions of the February and October Revolutions of 1917, the Civil War, the interlude of NEP, Stalin's "revolution from above," the various Five-Year Plans, and the Great Purges--all treated as discrete episodes in a twenty-year process of revolution. The book incorporates data from archives that were previously inaccessible not only to Western but also to Soviet historians, as well as drawing on important recent Russian publications such as the memoirs of one of the great survivors of Soviet politics, Vyacheslav Molotov. In the Select Bibliography, the author highlights the most important of the recent scholarly works, directing readers to the burgeoning Western scholarship on the Russian Revolution in the last ten to fifteen years. Shelia Fitzpatrick is an internationally known expert on Soviet history. This lively and readable Third Edition uses newly available Soviet archival material and the latest Russian and Western research to provide an authoritative, compact account of one of the key events of modern history.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
An Articulate and Concise History of the Russian Revolution
Customer Rating:
Sheila Fitzpatrick's "The Russian Revolution" is concise and well-written, making sense out of a very confusing and confused time. She sees the events generally referred to as The Russian Revolution as a series of revolutions, each with its distinct character and players, beginning with the uprisings in 1905, and culminating in Stalin's consolidation of his power with the Great Purges of the 1930's. Professor Fitzpatrick writes clearly and economically, with a dry wit which animates each page. An interesting and lively analysis.
The Russian Revolution by Sheila Fitzpatrick
Customer Rating:
I am enjoying this book immensely. I was looking for a good intermediate source to transition me from a Wiki-level knowledge of the RR (which I already had) to the point where I felt capable of tackling a professional academic tome on the RR (which I would like to someday do). Fitzpatrick's book fits this bill nicely. Each chapter covers a certain time period and starts out with a short intro (just a few pages) that mentions the major controversies among historians about how to view the events of this period. The author occasionally takes a side in these debates, but usually just presents them so that the reader is aware of their existence. Then she launches into the chapter, which pretty much just consists of a summary of events. The book is dense with facts but is also a very quick and easy read. In other words, the perfect thing for someone who is interested in this topic but not used to reading huge academic history books, or for someone who just wants the facts without any thesis that the author is trying to prove.
Revisionism
Customer Rating:
There are numerous books out debunking Fitzpatrick. Yale University's "Annals of Communism" series is a good place to start.
"In Denial: Historians, Communism & Espionage" by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr is an excellent read on how Fitzpatrick and other academics distort facts and lie through omission to minimize the atrocities of Lenin, Zinoviev, Radek, Trotsky, Stalin et al.
Read "A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia" by Alexander N. Yakovlev. Yakovlev was the architect of perestroika. He was a communist. He had access to documents western researchers have not yet seen. Yakovlev details how the regime was a criminal organization from its founding, how mass executions began only months after Lenin seized power. The regime never had the support Fitzpatrick claims it did.
Not bad intro book--would not read if I wanted an anthology though
Customer Rating:
Book is good, touches on many subects, including ideology, revolutionary theory and practice, collectivization, industrialization, Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky and a brief introduction to how the three interacted as historical figures. Short book wetts your appitite to learn more about subject. If you were like me when I read it, I didn't have much background on the 1905-1932 period of Russian history covered in this book. Thus I enoyed it. Lastly, I found it authoritative--yet fair (and "balanced"). I am on the left and am critical of even those who profess to be on my side, so I am cautious about what and how I read. Nontheless, I approve of this book for not siding with the elite bourgeois bias of the common university "professor of truth." I would give 4.5 stars and not five because Mrs. Fitzpatrick should have enough knowledge in her head to have written more than 100something pages.
Concise to a fault
Customer Rating:
This book receives lots of kudos from other reviewers for being so concise. That it is, but I didn't experience that attribute as being as positive as the others. If the topic of the Russian Revolution is assigned reading for you and you want to get it out of the way as quickly as possible, get this book. On the other hand, if the topic fascinates you and you're looking to explore it, I expect you may find this book unsatisfying. Consider skipping this "appetizer" and going right for the main course somewhere else (not sure where that is yet, but I'll be looking for it).
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