Book on Russian Revoluton

[ZoCrowes]

Posted this in the lounge but figured this would be a better forum

This has long been a topic of interest for me however beyond what most people learn in a basic college modern history course I don't know jackfuckingshite about it. However, I have a few stipulations that must be met

a) I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed so I want something that will be a fairly entertaining and easy read for one as dense as myself.

b)No historical revisionism bullshit! No Lennin apoligists (and anybody who apoligizes for Stalin needs a good kick in the balls/box.)

c) No historical revisionism (pt.2) bullshit! No "capitalists are the greatest thing since sliced bread and we beat those commie bastards" bullshit! I want to be as objective as humanly possible without being overwhelmed with a fucking dry as toast thesis.

d) It's gotta be CHEAP!! No more than $20. I'm a poor college student

My Comparitive Political Systems suggested A Concise History of the Russian Revolution by Richard Pipes. However I hear that falls into column C. My History 102 prof. suggested History of the Bolshevik Revolution by E.H. Carr. However that sounds like it may fall into column C. Can any of the DU history nuts lend me a hand?

[Robeson]

1. A couple of choices....

"Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War" by W. Bruce Lincoln is a pretty good overview.

IMHO, the best book on the subject is "History of the Russian Revolution" by Leon Trotsky. Its a pretty clinical look at the revolution, and not as firebrand as you may think. Actually its pretty well documented and researched.

You may want to find them as a used book on something like Amazon. Trotky's book can get pretty pricey, though, since it actually is 3 volumes in length. But you might be able to find the unabridged version that is printed in one book. Again, see if you can find it used.

[Lithos]

5. Trotsky's Book

Yeah, it's pricey. Though if you want what is essentially a primary source, it's a steal at $35.

You might try Mawdsley's _The Russian Civil War_. A Harvard professor named Pipes also wrote a few, though I've never read any of those.

L-

[solinvictus]

2. Trotsky's book..

If you have a Socialist Worker's Party bookstore in your area, they'll have it.

[NoPasaran]

3. Another recomendation

The Russian Revolution by William Henry Chamberlain. (Two volumes) Chamberlain wrote his history in the mid-1930s. Volume 1 deals with 1917, Volume 2 continues the story through the Civil War on all fronts ending with the war with Poland and the coming of the NEP. This work is currently out of print but perhaps could be found in a used book store.

[onager]

4. Old but easy to find and cheap...

Black Night, White Snow: Russia's Revolutions 1905-1917 by Harrison E. Salisbury.

Very readable overview of Russia's tumultuous "revolutionary years."

What I liked about this book was the human sweep. Along with the important leaders and notables, Salisbury really puts you in the place of ordinary Russians at the time. What was it like to be a worker in the massive Putilov steel plant, lighting your worklamp at 7 AM on a freezing morning? To stand in the snow, patiently waiting to petition the Czar, and get shot at by Cossacks. To go out drinking in St. Petersburg and see pimps beating their 13-yr-old "employees."

At times this book "works" like good fiction, and you almost feel you're in the streets of St. Petersburg, surrounded by revolutionaries, counter-revolutionaries, spies, ranting religious fanatics, soldiers, etc.

This book was written pre-glasnost, but Salisbury had a lot of contacts in Russia (including veterans of the Revolution) and often visited there.