Customer Reviews

Russia: A History

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Gregory Freeze is an erudite scholar, and it shows with the current volume. This is not a popular book. It is written for those with some knowledge of the subject, who will appreciate the possibilities and limitations of serious historical reviews of events most of us find difficult to understand. However, understand these events we must, as Russia is not the only country to thrive on misinformation and misunderstanding of its place in the world.

This is a comprehensive book covering several hundred years of Russian history. Although the book is divided into 'bite sized chunks', make no mistake; this is no lightweight read. Gregory Freeze has an obvious grasp of the enigma that is Russia and has the skill to present his knowledge in a way that makes complex history fun to read instead of a chore.
The revised edition takes into account the information that has become available since the fall of Communism in the USSR. This makes it all the more interesting as it helps dispel some of the myths propagated by the West during the cold war. I would recommend this book to anyone with a fascination for Russia but particularly for the undergraduate studying the topic.

Freeze's book examines the history of Russia from the early years to the present. It is a fairly readable book. Not all that needs to be said can be said in such a short history. Nevertheless it accomplishes its task well and is well illustrated. Freeze has collected a number of authors who speak with some convincing authority. Overall this book is fairly successful in its aims to be a basic, historical introduction to Russia.

A very readable book on Russian history with detailed maps, timelines, gorgeous pictures of paintings and illustrations topped off with a glossary of terms. After reading an introductory history of Russia, I picked up this book and could not stop reading. It presents in great detail all of the important events and themes of Russian history and in a fantastically organized manner. The little things such as sub texts next to illustrations and brief histories of the literary and cultural themes of the times thrown into the mix allow you to lose yourself as you devour a fascinating history. Seriously this is like a roller coaster ride in the form of a book! If you are not already in love with Russian history, then clear your calender because you will find yourself curled up with a new lover for a few nights!

This is a beautifully illustrated and attractively presented overview of Russian history (broadly conceived) by respected authorities in specific areas of Russian history from ancient times to the present. It is sober and balanced and in touch with the latest research and documentation. It is addressed to a broad audience and may be read with pleasure and profit by anyone. Pictures and text are exceptionally well integrated. An outstanding and sophisticated popular presentation by twelve American, British and German scholars.

This is not the book if you already know quite a lot about russian history. This is indeed the beginners book, however the book is not well written. It gives you a survey, but no satisfaction.

This book isn't so much a history of Russia, but a history of Russia's leaders and leadership. It delves into the machinations of the czars, rulers, bolshiveks, and all their minions with monotonous detail, but misses the importance of the significant EVENTS that shaped Russian history. Napoleon's invasion of Russia, why he failed, why the Russians triumphed, is barely analyzed. Discussion of the Russo-Japanese war doesn't even rate an entire paragraph! (Now, if the author ever wanted to delve into the mind of a Russian czar, here was a great place to do it. What prompted Nicolas II to provoke a war with Japan? What made him so confident that he sailed his navy halfway around the world to battle with the Japanese, only to suffer a near-total defeat? Who was in charge of the Russian navy, and what mistakes were made?)

Skip this book. Maybe someone will find a better history of Russia out there, and write a review so we can find it.

Hey, Amazon, why keep listing that last dumb review, obviously written by an obtuse and prejudiced reader and low rated by him or her. Freeze's book is coming out in paperback shortly and has received excellent reviews by acknowledged authorities in the field. It covers much more than the 1930s, despite the reviewer's cockamamy opinion, and the illustrations and text are exceptionally well integrated. It surprassed anything the beknighted Richard Pipes ever foisted on the public.

It's still startling to read a book of this sort, given all the revelations of post-Soviet Russia. Freeze presents a history text full of nonsensical attempts to revive some of the most outlandish claims about the USSR.

For example, one chapter's author denies that the starvation of the Ukraine was ordered by Stalin, despite documentary evidence; another claims that only 10,000 at most died in the Great Terror (most historians put it at more like 10,000,000, or a number about equivalent to the number than died from the direct effects of WWII).

There are many better books, beginning with Robert Conquest's "The Great Terror".

Gregory Freeze's Russian History is a wonderful collection of facts and templates, names and places, charts and graphs, written in a very dry academical style. Partly this is due to the publishers who have shown a penchant for drab Western historiograpy, partly this is due to the book being a collection of various academical "specialists" in Russian history. For instance, almost all the contributors are from American universities, and it being a fact well known that no one knows Russia better than Americans, it is no wonder that the book lacks passion. One is reminded of why Marxist ideological alienation and suffering triumphed in Russia whereas the tediums of Western tenured universities have without fail failed of impact. When this book does verge on enthusiasm, it is more for the arisocratic exploits of Peter the Great, not for the peasants who got an apartment flat and a warm meal just this century. This is a great book for the when and where, for the why try fasting.