A People s Tragedy: Russian Revolution, 1891-1924 
Product Description: - Written in a narrative style that captures both the scope and detail of the Russian revolution, Orlando Figes history is certain to become one of the most important contemporary studies of Russia as it was at the beginning of the 20th century. With an almost cinematic eye, Figes captures the broad movements of war and revolution, never losing sight of the individuals whose lives make up his subject. He makes use of personal papers and personal histories to illustrate the effects the revolution wrought on a human scale, while providing a convincing and detailed understanding of the role of workers, peasants, and soldiers in the revolution. He moves deftly from topics such as the grand social forces and mass movements that made up the revolution to profiles of key personalities and representative characters.
Figes themes of the Russian revolution as a tragedy for the Russian people as a whole and for the millions of individuals who lost their lives to the brutal forces it unleashed make sense of events for a new generation of students of Russian history. Sympathy for the charismatic leaders and ideological theorising regarding Hegelian dialectics and Marxist economics--two hallmarks of much earlier writing on the Russian revolution--are banished from these clear-eyed, fair-minded pages of A People s Tragedy. The author s sympathy is squarely with the Russian people. That commitment, together with the benefit of historical hindsight, provides a standpoint Figes can take full advantage of in this masterful history.
Customer Ratings: - For serious history buffs. A People s Tragedy is an extraordinary book, and I highly recommend it. Nevertheless, I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 simply because my eyes glazed over some of the political text. I m more keen on knowing about the personal and social history than the political narrative. I, particularly liked reading the revolutionary s romance with the common Russian peasant and their illusions, there of. The passion lasted until they come face to face with these harden and suspicious people. I ve read a lot of Russian history concerning the surfs of the earlier years, but not a whole lot about the peasants during the late 19th and early 20th century. There are plenty of interesting facts that I wasn t previously aware of, plus a lot about Lenin too. If you want a precise, definitive, blow by blow perspective, with all the players on the stage, I couldn t endorse a better book.
- A Masterpiece of History. I have recently finished A People s Tragedy and read it as part of ongoing revision and research for my AS History Paper on Russia in Revolution.
I thought that it was a stunning book that left out little and offered a thorough examination of events with Figes concluding on his own opinion on matters that would be heavily argued between the right and left of the historical world!
This allowed for clearer reading (and should not be a criticism of him) and also meant that I could compare my own interpretation of events with his.
Do not let the number of pages out you off at all! If you want to learn about the Russian Revolution in it s entirety from the late Tsars to the death of Lenin then this is the book for you! - What s a little ice-pick between friends...?. A superb book and a wonderful introduction to the history of Soviet Russia.
I ll never be able to watch 10 days that shook the world in the same way ever again!
- Superb read, unbeatable. What lies behind the dates and hard historical facts of the Russian Revolution? Why did it happen? Why did democracy and freedom not thrive? Why did the atheist, weak and unpopular Bolsheviks ultimately win power in a deeply religious country? All these questions, and so much more, are superbly covered in this book so that the reader develops a good understanding of the momentous events in Russia that shook the world and shaped the 20th century. This book gives the reader a feel for what the times were like back then, what people s attitudes were and the forces at play. And it reads like a novel, so a real pleasure to read.
- moving. An amazing book, i always wanted to know about the Russian revolution and its cause and effects, Mr Figes not only delivers but makes all the key people involved come alive, i really felt for the peasant farmer trying to reform the agriculture of his village for the greater good.
The title is the most accurate and precise i have known for a book.
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A People s Tragedy: Russian Revolution, 1891-1924 (ID: 071267327X)
