Edmund Wilson's magnum opus, To the Finland Station, is a stirring account of revolutionary politics, people, and ideas from the French Revolution through the Paris Commune to the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917. It is a work of history on a grand scale, at once sweeping and detailed, closely reasoned and passionately argued, that succeeds in painting an unforgettable picture--alive with conspirators and philosophers, utopians and nihilists--of the making of the modern world.
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Critical and historical study of European writers and theorists of socialism who set the stage for the Russian Revolution of 1917, by Edmund Wilson. It was published in book form in 1940 although much of the material had previously appeared in The New Republic. The work discusses European socialism, anarchism, and various theories of revolution from their origins to their implementation. It presents ideas and writings of political theorists representing all aspects of socialist, anarchist, and what would later be known as communist thought, among them Jules Michelet, Henri de Saint-Simon, Robert Owen, Mikhail Bakunin, Anatole France, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Leon Trotsky, and Vladimir Ilich Lenin--who arrived at Petrograd's (St. Petersburg's) Finland Station in 1917 to lead the Bolshevik revolution. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
EDMUND WILSON (1895–1972) is widely regarded as the preeminent American man of letters of the twentieth century. Over his long career, he wrote for Vanity Fair, helped edit The New Republic, served as chief book critic for The New Yorker, and was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. Wilson was the author of more than twenty books, including Axel’s Castle, Patriotic Gore, and a work of fiction, Memoirs of Hecate County.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the story of the journey of an idea - that of engineering a society conceived as an organism - from its roots in the romantic movement with Michelet to Lenin, the ultimate man of action, on the threshold of power. Only Edmund Wilson, whose erudition as an autodidact was unsurpassed in his time, could have pulled this off: the ideas and inspiration pulse with life on every page. You get to know Marx, ENgels, and scores of other characters intimately as they dream of building a socialist order that would fundamentally re-order society and its economy. WHile I was never a sympathiser for communism, this most certainly gave me a feeling for the seductive beauty of the dream. THere is even a forward by Wilson, who admits to being overly optimistic, that what he chronicled with such excitment actually led to "one of the most horrible tyrannies in the history of mankind." THis is intellectual history at its very best, freed in the hands of a master writer from the pedantry and puffery of academia, and unflinching in the audacity of its partisan interpretations. Also beautifully written, it is a window into the hopes and dream of the 20C.
Warmly recommended.
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Library Binding
Edmund Wilson has undeservingly fallen into obscurity, but in the 21st century I have no doubt that he'll be recognized as one of the greatest of writers in English, and especially important to understanding the 20th century.The title of his book, _To the Finland Station_ refers to Lenin's trip to Russia, financed by the German government. It is a history of religious and secular communalist movements in America, and surprisingly humorous. Starting from the early 1800's to the Communist Party of 1917, Wilson's elegant study remains ever relevant.
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By M. A. Krul
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The American critical writer Edmund Wilson attempted in this book to give an overview of the historical development of socialism, or rather the many socialisms, until the 1930s. However, the result is a very mixed bag: sometimes Wilson reaches great heights, but sometimes it is bare nonsense too.
The best description I can give of the nature of the work is that it is very much a literary overview of socialism rather than a political-historical one. Wilson concentrates in all mini-biographies of early socialists as well as the pieces on Lenin, Marx & Engels on the particulars of their life. Larded with many details and amusing anecdotes revealing the personality of the main socialist leaders, this book is very much at its best when describing the human interactions between various socialists and the world around them, and in portraying how their ideas were formed by their life experiences.
The big downside to this book is, however, Wilson's complete lack of understanding of any theory whatever. He clearly has neither knowledge of nor interest in any of the real tenets of socialism, Marxist, Lassallean or otherwise, and has not taken any trouble to look it up either. The result is that the passages which mean to give quick overviews of the Marxist or Leninist positions on certain issues are almost invariably simplistic, confused and wrong. The worst example of this (as a prior reviewer also mentioned) is the chapter on the dialectic, which immediately reveals to the reader that Wilson didn't have the slightest idea what dialectics is, and the childish simplicity of his view on it makes one think he probably got his information from a dictionary or something equally useless.
For these reasons, it is hard to say whether the overall result is positive or negative. If you are looking for a good insight on the development of the theoretical aspects of socialism or the political issues of those times, absolutely do not rely on this book. If you are however interested in the personalities and life histories of the main socialists until WWII, then Wilson's book will be a high-quality, pleasant and sympathetic guide. If there were a 3.5 star rating, I would give it that; but I will err on the side of a positive review here since I suppose most people reading popular literature about socialism are not going to be interested in the the technical details of the theory, unless they are socialists themselves - in which case they should read Marx & Engels directly anyway.
One final word of warning: the introduction by Louis Menand is terrible, and is best skipped altogether.
The best description I can give of the nature of the work is that it is very much a literary overview of socialism rather than a political-historical one. Wilson concentrates in all mini-biographies of early socialists as well as the pieces on Lenin, Marx & Engels on the particulars of their life. Larded with many details and amusing anecdotes revealing the personality of the main socialist leaders, this book is very much at its best when describing the human interactions between various socialists and the world around them, and in portraying how their ideas were formed by their life experiences.
The big downside to this book is, however, Wilson's complete lack of understanding of any theory whatever. He clearly has neither knowledge of nor interest in any of the real tenets of socialism, Marxist, Lassallean or otherwise, and has not taken any trouble to look it up either. The result is that the passages which mean to give quick overviews of the Marxist or Leninist positions on certain issues are almost invariably simplistic, confused and wrong. The worst example of this (as a prior reviewer also mentioned) is the chapter on the dialectic, which immediately reveals to the reader that Wilson didn't have the slightest idea what dialectics is, and the childish simplicity of his view on it makes one think he probably got his information from a dictionary or something equally useless.
For these reasons, it is hard to say whether the overall result is positive or negative. If you are looking for a good insight on the development of the theoretical aspects of socialism or the political issues of those times, absolutely do not rely on this book. If you are however interested in the personalities and life histories of the main socialists until WWII, then Wilson's book will be a high-quality, pleasant and sympathetic guide. If there were a 3.5 star rating, I would give it that; but I will err on the side of a positive review here since I suppose most people reading popular literature about socialism are not going to be interested in the the technical details of the theory, unless they are socialists themselves - in which case they should read Marx & Engels directly anyway.
One final word of warning: the introduction by Louis Menand is terrible, and is best skipped altogether.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Human progress and the nature of man
In a kind of Michelet style (`in the midst of human happenings') Edmund Wilson draws intelligently the evolution of the political, social and economic struggle of the `communists'... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Luc REYNAERT
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disorganized.
This book is rather disorganized whenever it tries to place philosophers like Marx in the context of their times. And Wilson lacks the knack of making their lives interesting. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Peter I. Chipman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paul Shapshak, PhD reviews To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson.
Review written for and requested by Amazon.com "To the Finland Station"
4-1-2010. To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson (1895-1972) [NY Review of Books, NYC, 2003,... Read more
4-1-2010. To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson (1895-1972) [NY Review of Books, NYC, 2003,... Read more
Published on April 1, 2010 by Paul Shapshak
5.0 out of 5 stars
A love story of writers and revolutionaries
'To the Finland Station' is Edmund Wilson's novel-like narrative of the personalities who pioneered the ideas of social equality in the 150 years leading up to the Russian... Read more
Published on February 12, 2010 by Doctor.Generosity
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow going
This book reads like it was written in Russian, then translated (awkwardly). Frequently, the run-on sentences made little sense, until read two or three times, then the point... Read more
Published on February 10, 2010 by Newton Malerman
1.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent in its Uselessness
Wilson succeeds in writing some of the worst "history" ever. Tearfully boring (as is usually the case with literature experts who write history), Wilson's obviously enamored with... Read more
Published on March 25, 2009 by John R. Shirley
3.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Insights Hidden Under Atrocious Syntax
It was Vladimir Nabokov who brought me to this book. The Russian immigre author of the delightfully written novel PNIN and of the sometime-banned LOLITA praised TO THE FINLAND... Read more
Published on October 19, 2008 by WILLIAM H FULLER
5.0 out of 5 stars
Takes time to read it, but pays off tremendously
It has been several months since I finished To the Finland Station, and I'm still in awe of the scope of this book and its sensitive author. Read more
Published on March 25, 2007 by T. M. Teale
2.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting perspective on the Marx/Engels relationship
I didn't make it the whole way through this densely written and intimidating book, but I was absorbed by one aspect: its portrayal of the human interaction between Marx and... Read more
Published on April 20, 2006 by Pamela
5.0 out of 5 stars
Become a fly on the wall
of Marx's study. That's how this book makes you feel. Wilson's mastery of prose, artistry of language and clarity of vision draws you into the lives of his subjects so you feel... Read more
Published on August 26, 2005 by A. Alexander Jager
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