Tuesday, October 18, 2016

CAUGHT IN THE REVOLUTION by Helen Rappaport

CAUGHT IN THE REVOLUTION   by Helen Rappaport
The lives of the diplomats , journalists, ordinary citizens and foreign expats who lived through 1917 in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), Russia as it fell from Tsarist rule to peasant’s revolt to anarchy to Leninism is told in exacting detail by Rappaport. Her clear and compelling writing makes this journey into disaster and terror real and immediate.  She is able to carry the reader into the unease that slowly begins to develop into the “practically bloodless” and often times polite early revolution and that then descends into chaos and horror as beatings, death, starvation and cold blooded murder escalate.
As well written as it is researched, the book is surprisingly easy to read. The many (nearly 100) pages of notes will fascinate those of a more scholarly bent. I just enjoyed the clear writing and minute by minute detail.  This isn’t a book for everyone, but anyone with an interest in Russia or revolution or world history will appreciate this book.

4 of 5 stars

No comments:

Post a Comment