Abstract

"This book offers a brilliant treatment of many facets of its subject, but it also ends up being, for the reader, one of the finest general histories to be found, of these crucial years in Russian history. The source material is unbelievably detailed, and clearly cited on each page. Not only that, the writing is, at many points, the boldest, clearest I've almost ever found in the Academy. The author's opinions, summaries, insights easily spill out of the historical constructions. The presence of the author's psyche (he never hides behind his quotes) means the material is contoured. The reader gets, not only huge amounts of information, but an authorial presence, as company, that is often daring, bold, insightful, revelatory. And one stylistic point made me especially happy: when Stites uses metaphors to explain history, these are revelatory, and their internal implications are followed through in the prose." -- from www.goodreads.com (Feb. 2, 2011.)