Active Users:642 Time:21/03/2026 06:55:14 AM
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules
Read Figes first, I suppose. Tom Send a noteboard - 14/03/2017 10:55:23 PM

I haven't read his history of the revolution though I am curious if it's any good (I would read as a critic and not as a reader seeking information, obviously).

When you're familiar with that, Dmitri Volkogonov's biography of Lenin is probably a good next step for him. Radzinsky's biography of Stalin is the best I've read so far. I'm not sure that any good biography of Trotsky has been written in the West - they treat him like some sort of Che Guevara, with a heroic patina liberally applied to a wretched person and life. I guess Volkogonov's superficial bio is acceptable.

https://www.amazon.com/Lenin-Dmitri-Volkogonov-ebook/dp/B003DYGNMY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1489531523&sr=8-4&keywords=Volkogonov

https://www.amazon.com/Stalin-depth-Biography-Explosive-Documents-ebook/dp/B003F3PMNO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1489531550&sr=1-1&keywords=Radzinsky+stalin

https://www.amazon.com/Trotsky-Eternal-Revolutionary-Dmitri-Volkogonov/dp/0684822938/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489532034&sr=8-1&keywords=Trotsky+Volkogonov

Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
Reply to message
The February Revolution and Kerensky’s Missed Opportunity The Shrike - 13/03/2017 09:37:00 PM 881 Views
Fascinating stuff damookster - 13/03/2017 10:52:58 PM 468 Views
Who knows? It could have been worse off. The Shrike - 13/03/2017 11:37:54 PM 566 Views
What's your opinion on Lenin? Ghavrel - 14/03/2017 02:06:59 AM 518 Views
Lenin. A monster. The Shrike - 14/03/2017 12:55:18 PM 538 Views
Thanks. I'll ask him too. *NM* Ghavrel - 14/03/2017 03:01:36 PM 254 Views
Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky were all bloodthirsty mass murderers. Tom - 14/03/2017 08:59:06 PM 589 Views
That's fascinating. But give me a book recommendation! Ghavrel - 14/03/2017 09:15:57 PM 477 Views
Start with a general history of Russia The Shrike - 14/03/2017 10:17:22 PM 602 Views
Excellent. Thank you. It's next on the list. Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 02:11:14 AM 543 Views
Russian history is as depressing as they come. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 12:08:15 PM 537 Views
Read Figes first, I suppose. Tom - 14/03/2017 10:55:23 PM 502 Views
Thanks, Tom. I've been putting off reading good literature because of my unfamiliarity with Russia. *NM* Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 02:12:10 AM 241 Views
Which books have you put off reading? *NM* The Shrike - 15/03/2017 12:05:32 PM 231 Views
DEMONS and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV are the big two. Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 02:58:13 PM 497 Views
You don't necessarily need to know the history. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 03:15:38 PM 530 Views
I'm always afraid I'm missing something critical, though! Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 03:50:59 PM 477 Views
Annotations are amazing. My eBook version of War and Peace was the same. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 04:03:59 PM 497 Views
My High School English teacher neglected Russian literature. Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 01:46:29 AM 462 Views
Hmmmm. The Shrike - 16/03/2017 01:18:14 PM 506 Views
Tolstoy was a reprehensible human being Tom - 15/03/2017 04:02:52 PM 471 Views
I had no idea. I was under the impression he was deeply devout. Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 01:47:43 AM 500 Views
Here's one example: Tom - 16/03/2017 02:06:45 AM 494 Views
Good lord. The man sounds deranged. But that's fascinating! Is there a good biography on him? *NM* Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 07:50:10 AM 239 Views
Pavel Basinsky's bio is best Tom - 16/03/2017 02:46:47 PM 682 Views
Getting it now. Thanks. *NM* Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 11:06:25 PM 231 Views
For what it's worth, I read Lenin & Trotsky as genuine idealists, while Stalin as just a thug Cannoli - 15/03/2017 11:16:36 AM 565 Views
Didn't the 40k authors mainly crib from the Nazis, commissariat excepted? *NM* Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 03:00:17 PM 231 Views
I think that's entirely incorrect. Tom - 15/03/2017 04:00:54 PM 563 Views
Fascinating post. I so need to read up on Soviet history. And Russian history. *NM* Legolas - 15/03/2017 11:10:29 PM 242 Views
I didn't mean stupid or brutish, I meant more like a mafia don than a statesman Cannoli - 16/03/2017 12:18:34 PM 461 Views
Well if you want to completely redefine the phrase "just a thug", perhaps you're right Tom - 16/03/2017 02:43:38 PM 482 Views
Good point Cannoli - 16/03/2017 09:52:29 PM 611 Views
I hear what you're saying, but... Tom - 16/03/2017 11:53:19 PM 504 Views
Yeah, it doesn't really matter if the motive is purely power seeking, or revenge. *NM* Cannoli - 17/03/2017 12:57:19 AM 301 Views
Attempt at clarification Cannoli - 17/03/2017 12:55:03 AM 593 Views
Hehehe..."Fuck off" Tom - 19/03/2017 05:23:49 PM 537 Views
Seems kind of nonsensical Cannoli - 14/03/2017 01:33:49 AM 586 Views
Good reply. The Shrike - 14/03/2017 12:57:47 PM 579 Views
They weren't really wrong Cannoli - 14/03/2017 01:30:07 PM 594 Views
I do enjoy historical "what if" situations. LiterateDog - 14/03/2017 01:47:27 AM 482 Views
Hi there. The Shrike - 14/03/2017 01:02:44 PM 465 Views
I still think democracy among those insidiously intrusive Western values Russia resists so fiercely Joel - 14/03/2017 02:37:39 PM 581 Views
Is it your persistant anti-Russia bias that makes you so dogmatic? damookster - 14/03/2017 02:51:23 PM 488 Views
I have no problem with Russia, only its government Joel - 14/03/2017 03:07:14 PM 610 Views
Really? damookster - 14/03/2017 03:15:10 PM 517 Views
Look, we both know I consider your knowledge of Russia to be non-existent and that your own bias The Shrike - 14/03/2017 03:27:05 PM 543 Views
You are just stunningly stupid. Not merely ignorant, but stupid. Tom - 14/03/2017 08:35:00 PM 606 Views
Very interesting article. One thing that's struck me more and more about WW1 is... Legolas - 14/03/2017 06:34:14 PM 617 Views
Kerensky risked a revolution if he pulled Russia out of the war Tom - 14/03/2017 08:21:05 PM 501 Views
Re: Very interesting article. One thing that's struck me more and more about WW1 is... The Shrike - 15/03/2017 11:58:01 AM 457 Views
What a terrible article Tom - 14/03/2017 08:04:50 PM 477 Views
Your criticisms of the scholarship found in posted articles never fail to make me laugh. damookster - 14/03/2017 09:02:54 PM 523 Views
I don't think anyone's ever gotten an open peer review from me *NM* Tom - 14/03/2017 11:54:45 PM 223 Views
Too bad. I would seek it out just for the amusement factor. *NM* damookster - 15/03/2017 02:18:33 AM 229 Views
I thought you would think this way. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 12:04:57 PM 559 Views
I can't decide what I think about Evans Tom - 15/03/2017 04:10:05 PM 457 Views
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules

Reply to Message

Block Quote Paragraph Quote
Formatting
Smiley Codes