The Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia (Hist Atlas) [Hardcover]

John Channon (Author), Robert Hudson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995 | Series: Hist Atlas

The breakup of the Soviet Union has seen a renewed surge of interest in this contradictory country: a land of fearsome autocrats, from Ivan the Terrible to Stalin; a land of determined reformers from Peter the Great to Mikhail Gorbachov. This atlas follows the fortunes of Russia. It takes in the rise of Muscovy, the creation of the new capital of St Petersburg, territorial expansion under Catherine the Great, the ordeal of 1812, the exploration of the "wild west", the liberation of the serfs and the revolution of 1917.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670864617
• ISBN-13: 978-0670864614
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,376,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best available historical atlas of Russia, September 25, 2001

By 

Walter M. Pintner (Valley Center, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia (Hist Atlas) (Hardcover)

I have been teaching the history of Russia at Cornel University for many years and have never found a completely satistfactory hisitorical atlas. Channon's work is defintely the best available. The maps are in color and deal with most of the main issues. A notable omission is a map showing the climatic zones which moulded the life of the Russian people.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A USA Today-styled" approach to Russian history, September 16, 2000

By 

Baltic Books "Vic" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia (Hist Atlas) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Penguin Historical Atlases are a great resource for those that are new to countries or perhaps are somewhat younger readers. In John Channon's version of Russian history, you'll find a concise, colorful and informative collection of articles spanning Russia's origins, the Tatars and establishment of imperial rule, through the Revolution, reforms and restructuring of the 20th Century. In a way it resembles something of a compilation of articles from a good illustrated encyclopedia.

The appeal of the volume is in it's size, illustrations and charts- I think of it as a kind of annotated "table of contents" to Russian history. It's a great resource to get the basic synopsis of a period, person or event that you can then take to a larger volume for greater detail. If you are looking for a great coffee table book or in depth Russian history, this isn't it.

As a neophyte to all things Russian, I found this to be the attractive appetizer that inspired me to really delve into Russian history and affairs.

While visiting a friend a few years ago in Siberia, he was struck by the readability, illustrations and usefulness of my copy-- yes, I brought it with me... He loved it so much, that I just had to leave it with him when I left. I now have purchased my second copy.

It's a great little introduction to Russia.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I expected better of Penguin, September 7, 2008

By 

J. Michael (Now Born) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia (Hist Atlas) (Mass Market Paperback)

Being interested in the historical expansion of Russia across Asia, I had high hopes for this book, since it was produced by the same publisher that gave us the excellent historical atlases of Europe and North America. However, unlike Colin McEvedy's invaluable works, I think this book was unfocused, convoluted and sloppy.

Where McEvedy's works were the epitome of conciseness, and could cover a half century's worth of continental-wide geopolitical change in a single page, this purported historical_atlas_of Russian history is crammed full of photos, cartoons, paintings and page after page of unnecessary text. Rejecting the brilliant simplicity of McEvedy's books, whose method was to generally show a snapshot of the political map in a single year, with accompanying text explaining the changes since the previous map, this book often shows hundreds of years worth of overlapping border changes on a single map, with different colored arrows- representing military campaigns- snaking their way through the resulting mishmash. The effect is often utter confusion.

Certain important subjects are given short shrift while comparatively insignificant areas receive inordinate attention. Russian expansion into Asia is dealt with by a single very, very bad map, and while the maps dealing with the expansion into the Caucuses and "the Stans" are ok, the explanatory text is unsatisfactorily cursory. Conversely, we are given much information on the location of various factories and industries within Russia, as well as maps of Moscow and the Sevastopol battlefield. The layout of the book is chronologically deranged as well. Can anyone explain to me why you would have a map of 1930s Europe, then have an entire chapter dealing with the history of the 20th century USSR until its dissolution, and_then_throw in a mere 2 maps on WWII? Similarly, why would you have a page with a map on the breakup of the USSR, and_then_finish the book with a chapter on Khrushchev's agricultural policies?? It just doesn't make sense.

You can learn from this book. It has some good maps and some good information. However, "some" is he operative word. Too much dross and too little editing spoiled what could have been a very useful work.