Lenin and the Russian Revolution: Revised Edition (Penguin History) [Paperback]

Christopher Hill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin History | Publication Date: August 31, 1978

This book attempts an assessment of the place of Lenin in history and of the revolution which was his life's work. The Bolshevik Party itself; an account of the features which differentiate it from other socialist parties; the agrarian policy of this party in a country where peasants formed 80% of the population; the political philosophy which inspired the revolution and the soviet state; Lenin's critique of imperialism and his definition of the national and international policy which the rulers of the Soviet state should pursue - these are some of the subjects considered in this study of Lenin and the Russian revolution.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 31, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140135359
• ISBN-13: 978-0140135350
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,286,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Outline of What Lenin Tried To Do In The Russian Revolution, September 20, 2006

By 

O. Mikse (Hershey, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lenin and the Russian Revolution: Revised Edition (Penguin History) (Paperback)

It surprises me that there are no newer editions of this book, or that so few people have bothered to review it yet. This book gives by far the best outline of what his contributions were to the revolution. While many books on Lenin's life seem to focus too much on his childhood, his years in exile, and his relationship with Krupskaya and Iskra, Hill focuses more on what Lenin's from the revolutionary standpoint. There is a great and brief introduction on how the Revolution (both 1905 and 1917) came about, and sheds a little more light on how exactly the Bolsheviks gained power, which according to Hill was by public persuasion and popular vote in the elections. There is also a great focus on what the Russian Revolution actually meant, and how it was a case of trial and error policies while still sticking to Marxist fundamentals. Hill argues that the uniqueness of the Russian Revolution prevented the Bolsheviks and Lenin from adapting Marx's and Engels' ideas directly. The book has a bit of a weak point as there is a large part dedicated to the crisis in World War I that I personally think could have been explained a little more in depth. Also, there are chronological inconsistencies as the book jumps from different periods sporadically; an aspect that hinders the flow of the book a bit. Aside from these minor problems, I think this book does a great job of telling Lenin's story from the most important perspective: the revolution.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MOST DISASTROUS SOCIAL EXPERIMENT EVER & LENIN'S PART IN IT, November 15, 2004

By 

Michael JR Jose (the UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Written in 1947 and updated in 1971 and 1992, this is a sympathetic and balanced summary of Lenin's life and the part he played in the rise of Russian communism and the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. As it is impossible to understand anything about Lenin without reference to Russia, it is fair to say that this book is equally about that great country's history too.

Part One skillfully covers a great deal of material, sketching the history preceding the Revolution (1870-1917), the state of the society then, international relations, and the formative influences on the Lenin himself.

Part Two covers the Revolution, the formation of the iron-fist in iron-glove state party, the appeal to the peasants' interests (usually by mere sloganism, 80% of the people still worked on the land), the rise of the Soviets (workers' caucuses) as an effective mechanism of power, and the building of a Socialism with a capital 'S', that is, with a world-dominating intent. The vision from the earliest was to bring Russia into the 20th century, expressed initially in the desire to industrialize, and bring electricity and railways to all parts of the land. The fervour with which they planned and worked is comparable to any other visionary movement of which we know the detailed history. The author draws interesting comparisons between the psychology of the English Puritans in the English Civil War (17th century) and that of the Bolsheviks.

Part Three covers the aftermath of the Revolution and the rise to power of Lenin's Generalissimo, Stalin (the self-dubbed 'Man of Steel'), who styled himself as Lenin's disciple. [The only clear inaccuracy in the book is the attribution of Lenin's death to a "stroke", which was put out as the official explanation. It has since been recently revealed from the Russian archives that he died of the disease he was being treated for, syphilis. His doctors were treating him with arsenic-based Salvarsan, only used to treat syph., and as it has some very unpleasant side effects no one is prescribed it on a just-in-case basis.) The essential nature of the personality cult of Lenin as autocratic father-figure, which was essential to the Revolution and its aftermath, was set early on. Lenin's ability to encompass the broad sweep of strategy and still focus on the fine detail is described by his foresight in the need to plan a full scale Russian armaments production capacity, and also know enough about a particular piece of anti-aircraft artillery to impress even military experts at an exhibition.

The short 1992 postscript fairly acknowledges that the Soviet Socialist experiment has failed radically and finally. And let's face it folks, if the Soviets could not subdue Afghanistan after ten years of occupation, but when push came to shove, the US managed it in six weeks, the end was never ever really in doubt, was it?