Introducing Lenin and the Russian Revolution [Paperback]

Richard Appignanesi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Introducing | Publication Date: July 10, 1996

Lenin is the key to understanding the Russian Revolution. His dream as the creation of the world's first Socialist state. It was a short-lived dream that became a nightmare when Stalin rose to absolute power in 1929. Lenin was the avant-garde revolutionary who adapted Marxist theory to the practical realities of a vast, complex and backward Russia. Is he chiefly to blame for opening the way to the totalitarian regime of Stalin? Readers will be able to judge for themselves. Lenin's career is depicted, from his obscure provincial origins to his role as architect of the Bolshevik Revolution, and his ideas, his genius for underground organisation and his strategies for agitation are explained. It is impossible to understand the events in post-communist Russia and eastern Europe today without some basic grasp of the Russian Revolution and Lenin's crucial role in it. This book is a re--issued classic which makes that history accessible and digestible.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Totem Books (July 10, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184046156X
• ISBN-13: 978-1840461565
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,935,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lenin, Liberation, and Laughs, September 18, 2002

By 

Chris Hill (Canterbury, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introducing Lenin and the Russian Revolution (Paperback)

Whilst many may claim that this book is a celebration of the machine that allowed Stalin to instigate genocide upon Russia, it is the underlying satire and wit that guide's the reader through the basics of the Russian revolution and to more complex questions that pose themselves in the post-glasnost era. This is not a complete overview of Russia in the grips of socialism, but that was never the purpose. The book highlights the important aspects of the period and introduces the more multifaceted situations. A superb read and a good buy.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An informative and funny introduction., October 3, 2000

By 

Jonathan D. Eckel "nekulturnii istorik" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introducing Lenin and the Russian Revolution (Paperback)

It is difficult to believe that a figure as complex as Vladimir Lenin could be successfully presented in a simple and humorous manner, but this book does exactly that. It is excellent not only for beginners seeking a quick overview of Lenin and the Russian Revolution, but also provides a refreshing antidote for experts who have grown weary of trying to plough through the biased and deadly dull works of hacks like Richard Pipes and Dmitri Volkogonov. You'll get a much more informative portrait of Lenin from this book's 175 short pages of cartoons mixed with facts than you would from Volkogonov's 500 page diatribe (_Lenin: A New Biography_).

Is this book a case of "Schoolhouse Rock" meeting the Russian Revolution? Not exactly. It is more ideally suited for high-school students and young adults, but readers of all ages will enjoy the light-hearted format. It occasionally displays a slight bias in Lenin's favor, but this should be seen as a good thing when you consider that even the better biographies of Lenin accessible to American readers (Adam B. Ulam's _The Bolsheviks_, for example) all contain a much more decided bias against him.

Considering that it is inexpensive and will only take a day or so to finish, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Lenin and the Russian Revolution. You'll get a few laughs from it, too.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A few important mistakes, January 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Introducing Lenin and the Russian Revolution (Paperback)

Now I've read just read this book and have come up with a few important mistakes in the text. A small example is that it claims that Martov "has first-hand experience of stick-action among Jewish socialist workers (the Bund). The first mass strike of 15,000 Bundists occurs at a Bialystok textile industry in 1895." (p.48)
This is all very nice except that Martov was a Jewish Socialist, yes, but not a Bundist, which is obvious from page 70 onwards when the Bund walks out of the 27th session, but Martov stays with the Mensheviks. Another problem with this statment is that it would have been impossible for the Bund to organise a 15,000 worker, mass-strike in Bialystok in 1895, becuase the Bund wasn't formed until 1897. And no the name was not simply chosen for the organisation because it was popular and therefore it was an easy mistake. The name of the Bund was debated over and changed three times before it got it's full name.

Good idea, but really, these factual errors are embarressing.