Alexander Kerensky: The First Love of the Revolution [Hardcover]

Richard Abraham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book is the first full-length biography of the man who has gone down in history as the Russian whose actions opened the door to Lenin and the Bolshevik revolution. He has thus had a bad press. Abraham presents him "warts and all," so we have a real sense of the man, his strengths and, most of all, his great flaws. A central problem for the author has been the uneven life of his subject. Thus, about one fourth of the book covers Kerensky's first 36 years, nearly half treats the eight months of the provisional government, when he entered (and left) history, and a brief segment tells of the last 52 years of his life, spent in exile, defending his record. Abraham has thoroughly mined family and other archives; the portrait that emerges remains depressing. For informed laypersons as well as specialists. R.H. Johnston, History Dept., McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ontario
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 503 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press; First edition. edition (January 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231061080
• ISBN-13: 978-0231061087
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kerensky's government troubles are revealed, June 11, 2000

By 

Claude R. Sasso (Kansas City, MO. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander Kerensky: The First Love of the Revolution (Paperback)

Abraham's book is a bit wordy and caught up in blow by blow descriptions of back room discussions and negotiations of the period. He does provide a revealing portrait of Alexander Kerensky and his troubled government in the turbulent times of war and revolution. Worth reading for serious students of Russian history. A Contribution to the history of the Revolution that changed the world.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historys Scapegoat for the Revolution Revealed, December 11, 2005

By 

Peter A. Taylor "Pat" (Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander Kerensky: The First Love of the Revolution (Hardcover)

For serious students of the Russian revolution, or simply those - like myself - who are fascinated by the turn of events during this momentous period of history, Abraham's book is a fascinating and revealing account of one of the periods most important players in the revolution. Kerensky, who has often been derided by both extemities of the political spectrum ( the Bolsheviks and the Monarchists/Rightists) was in fact a committed Social Democrat, with a heavy leaning toward the latter political description. Abraham, throughout his book, tries to build up a picture of the man - with his inherent egotism - and the political revolutionary, and how the conflict between the man and his political ideals often lead to the false assumption that he was powerless and vaccilating. Whilst Lenin and his fellow emigre' Bolsheviks came in on the coat tails of the hard work done during the first - and perhaps most hopeful of the 1917 revolutions (February) - Kerensky and other hopeful Democrats were trying to build a future Russia where the kind of oppression suffered under the Tsarist, and then later Boshevik regimes, could have been avoided. Whilst Kerensky was undoubtedly no angel and did contribute to the eventual downfall of the Provisional government, Abraham, paints a picture of man that you can't help thinking may have helped in providing a more hopeful future for his people. Just think, none of the horrors of Lenin and Stalin!