A Concise History of the Russian Revolution [Paperback]

Richard Pipes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0679745440 | ISBN-13: 978-0679745440 | Publication Date: November 26, 1996

The author of the classic two-volume study, The Russian Revolution and Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime, now distills those works into an authoritative new chronicle of Russia between 1900 and the death of Lenin. "A deep and eloquent condemnation."--The New York Times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Distilled from his previous books, Pipes's narrative examines both the revolution itself and its negative repercussions for Russian society.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Pipes (history, Harvard Univ.) has condensed his two-volume opus, The Russian Revolution (LJ 11/1/90) and Russia Under the Bolsheviks (LJ 3/15/94), into a single readable volume. Forcefully showing why the 70-year-old Communist experiment failed, he provides the nonacademic reader with accurate historical events in a highly readable format. Only a minor flaw in the fourth chapter, where he fails to explain who the Mensheviks were until 30 pages later in the next chapter, mars this excellent book. The approach parallels Dominic Lieven's contemporary volume Nicholas II (LJ 1/94) but is better organized and more complete. The last chapter does a fine job of summing up the revolution and adds a curious comparison between Bolshevik and Tsarist Russia. Ultimately, Pipes shows how the seeds of destruction of communism were planted at its inception in 1917. Recommended for public, academic, and school libraries.?Harry Willems, Kansas Lib. System, Iola
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (November 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679745440
• ISBN-13: 978-0679745440
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,865 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

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great summary of his 3 previous books . . ., May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Concise History of the Russian Revolution (Paperback)

I'm a history student in my fourth year honours(with my major in Russia) and this book was the text book for my fourth year honours class. It is a great book because Pipes gives a summary of his previous 3 books "Russia Under the Old Regime", "The Russian Revolution" and "Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime". It is the equivalent to buy 3 books in one. The novelty of the book is that if the reader is interested in reading a relative short book about Russian history, this is the best book for that. However if one is interested in further details, I recommend people to read any of the 3 books summarized here in details. Pipes proves with enough arguments the gangster character of Lenin and his ambition for power. As Pipes argues, 'power' was the only ideology of the Bolshevik Party. The first part of the book provides a good background of the origins of 'autocracy' in the Old Regime. The last chapter gives the reader details about other aspects of the Bolsheviks after they achieved power, including among others 'the chapter on culture'. The chapters 'The October Coup' (here Pipes proves with details that in October 1917 a coup d'état took place and not a revolution), 'The Red Terror' (proves that it was through killing nearly a million people that Bolsheviks stayed in power) and the chapter on Lenin are of course the worst nightmare for communists around the world. I one word I have to say that Pipes' books are the 'bible' of Russian history. My deepest admiration to Dr Pipes.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful and concise volume, November 15, 2003

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Concise History of the Russian Revolution (Paperback)

Dr. Pipes is one of the great scholars of Russia and the Soviet Union. He has written at length on the origin and events of the revolution that led to the founding of the USSR. Only someone with his deep knowledge of the material and his skill at writing could pull off such a brilliant telling of these important, and tragic, historical events in only 400 pages.

The book is divided into three sections. The first is called "The Agony of the Old Regime" and provides a snapshot of the way Russia was governed and the lives of its citizens and peasants in 1900. It also discusses its experiments in constitutional government and the crisis of the First World War and the February Revolution.

The second part is entitled "The Bolsheviks Conquer Russia" and tells us about Lenin, the October Coup, and the building of the terror state.

Part three is called "Russia under the Bolshevik Regime" and discusses the Civil War, the building of the mechanisms to export communism and revolution to the rest of the world, the crisis of Lenin's stroke and the positioning for power by Stalin and then Lenin's death. The chapter on "Reflections on the Russian Revolution is very valuable. There is a list of suggested further readings and the book has many well-chosen pictures.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Introduction to the Topic, September 12, 2004

By 

Kat Bakhu (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Concise History of the Russian Revolution (Paperback)

I wanted to understand just how the 300 year reign of Tsarist Russia ended and transformed into the Communist regime that dominated that land for 70 years.

After looking at the books available on this topic, I chose A Richard Pipe's Concise History of the Russian Revolution to answer my questions. It proved to be an excellent choice.

Don't let the word Concise in the title fool you. It is not concise in that it is short or brief. All the details are here to present a well fleshed out picture of the tumultuous events of 1917.

The necessary background of Nicholas II and Alexandra is presented. The moves of Lenin and his supporting cast are provided in detail. One also learns that the foundations murderous regime of Stalin were all put into place and utilized by Lenin himself.

The book ends with Lenin's death, and provides a glimple into Stalin and how he came to succeed Lenin.

Pipe's work is a very worthwhile work. For reading only one book on this subject, I have yet to have come across one that would better replace it.