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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good Survey, for Depth Look Elsewhere, October 19, 2007
This review is from: Russia: The Once and Future Empire From Pre-History to Putin (Hardcover)
Philip Longworth created an excellent survey of Russian history. One of the greatest virtues of this book is its readability. Longworth's writing style is light, and at times humorous. The final section, dealing with the collapse of the Soviet Union and its aftermath is particularly interesting, informative and well-written. It alone makes the purchase of this book worthwhile.
Even at the college level, Russian history is rarely taught as a stand-alone subject in the United States. At best, it is allotted a couple of lecture periods in a general European history class. While Longworth does not cover any particular area in great depth, his work will still be highly informative for the vast majority of its potential audience.
For those looking for depth and analysis, a subject-specific book may be a better choice. There are many good options dealing with various subjects. For 20th-century/WWII history, I highly recommend anything by David Glantz, and Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939-1953 by Geoffrey Roberts
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41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A brief and decent survey of Russian history, March 20, 2007
This review is from: Russia: The Once and Future Empire From Pre-History to Putin (Hardcover)
I may be unfair in awarding Mr. Longworth's book only 3 stars. But what do these ratings mean? His book offers nothing new but it is a well written terse synopsis of Russian history. So I rated it at 3 stars. Others might say 4 stars.
Why is it not original? It is mostly based on secondary sources, not new research. The first chapter (claimed as original with some fanfare) delves into pre-history and attempts to find the sources of Russian character (and thus history) in the Russian physical environment. The speculative links between the two are well argued, but the conclusions as to Russian character are very general, thus of little explanatory value in specific history, and are in any case ultimately unprovable. And the book's claim to explain the underlying causes of the periodic rise and fall of Russia also breaks down. Its descriptions make clear that each of the four great "boom and bust" cycles of Russian history had its own reasons for Russia's ascendance and, more particularly, for its decline.
So the book's attempts to suggest "gee whiz" originality fail. But that said, this is a solid and elegantly written overview of Russian history if you want to compress eleven hundred years into about 300 pages. The focus of the book is political history, and in particular the waxing and waning of Russian imperial conquests, but Mr. Longworth often offers broader sociological or even climatological explanations for what--underneath--really drove events beyond the surface politics of the moment.
That approach does offer real value.
So I don't mean to underrate the book. It's not brilliant or terribly original, but it is solid. And if you want a quick read on Russian history, you would do well to purchase it. One complaint, however: Mr. Longworth appears to be among those revisionist historians who put most of the blame for the initiation of the Cold War on the West, in particular the U.S. I think he is totally off base, and his arguments in that regard are thinly argued and even more thinly sourced.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written, if not entirely original, June 28, 2008
This review is from: Russia: The Once and Future Empire From Pre-History to Putin (Hardcover)
Overview:
This is a well-written bird's eye view of the history of the Russian people. It's argument is that unlike other "empires," Russia's identity/strength doe s not disappear when her Empire falls. Russia has gone through four or five major empires in the past 1300 years. She becomes (relatively) stronger after each fall.
Content:
There isn't much to add that other historians haven't said, aside from the above thesis. But I do want to look at some historiographical interpretations. The author does a good job in descriping the psyche of the Russian people. While fascinating, and having me convinced, it really can't be proven scientifically. But scientific knowledge has its limits, too. The author paints Russian figures "warts and all." Sometimes this leads to too critical an analysis of the Russian church. I was displeased that scant (if any) reference was made to the legend of the conversion to Orthodoxy of the Rus.
Final thoughts:
The book is useful in summarizing difficult parts of history. The narrative is smooth and compelling. Someone commented that the author is a left-ist revisionist historian blaming the West for Russia's ills. Maybe. While I am more "right wing" (I hate the term) than the author, I think there is some truth to the criticisms. One interesting note is the author ends the book (written in 2004) with a note of cautious optimism for Russia. Putin's Constantinian leadership of Russia further strengthened the author's case. This is a good book worth reading.
EDIT: Writing in 2004 he accurately predicted the Ossetian War in 2008. In fact, he mentions that NATO's bombing of Serbia was a check that would later bounce on America. Whether Russia was right or wrong in driving back Gerogian forces, NATO has no grounds to criticize them per the Kosovo precedent.
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