NOVEMBER 2022 - AudioFile
Rob Heaps’s precise enunciation and steady pacing result in a splendid narration of these detailed accounts of the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and the ensuing civil war that resulted in the establishment of Soviet power. Drawing on numerous firsthand accounts and other sources, Beevor’s history is one that will be enjoyed by history buffs, especially those intrigued by Russia. Heaps’s deep voice and English accent give this production an authoritative tone, and his delivery—pacing, intonation, enunciation—are all excellent. While his British pronunciation of Russian words and names may grate on purists, this is, nonetheless, an excellent work. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
07/25/2022
Czar Nicholas II’s abdication in 1917 created a “sudden vacuum of power” that enabled the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, according to this tart history. Beevor (The Battle of Arnhem) takes a critical view of most of the major players, detailing how Aleksandr Kerensky’s Provisional Government struggled to keep Russian troops on the Austro-Hungarian front of WWI while dealing with myriad domestic problems, including grain shortages and rising Ukrainian and Finnish nationalism. Meanwhile, revolutionary leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky were rallying the hungry and war-weary masses with bold promises for peace and land reform. Beevor faults the Bolsheviks for turning the humanist ideals of the Russian intelligentsia into a hard-core ideology that they implemented with a “fanatical determination,” but also blames reactionary monarchists for waging a disorganized and inhumane civil war that resulted in 12 million deaths and Russia’s “utter impoverishment.” Detailed breakdowns of the “see-saw” fighting between the Red and White armies are interwoven with sharp assessments of how White leaders Anton Denikin and Pyotr Wrangel bungled support from foreign units, and other strategic matters. Fine-grained yet fluidly written, this sweeping portrait illuminates the chaos and tragedy of Russian civil war. Agent: Robin Straus, Robin Straus Agency. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
One of Barnes & Noble's Best History Books of 2022
“Riveting . . . There is a wealth of new information here that adds considerable texture and nuance to his story and helps to set Russia apart from previous works.”—The Wall Street Journal
"Russia makes compelling use of witness testimony including from Russian archives. . . Beevor hits his stride with the formation of the Volunteer Army and rising military opposition to the Bolsheviks. . . As an account of internecine rivalry the book has panoramic sweep."—Financial Times
"Beevor’s book reads like a novel. . . An excellent place to begin learning about the Soviet period."—Forbes
"[Russia is] welcome because most Westerners have paid little attention to the fratricidal fury of the Russian Civil War, finding it bewilderingly complicated."—The Atlantic
"[A] magisterial history . . . a richly detailed account of the momentous four years of Russian history between 1917 and 1921."—NY Journal of Books
"In this brilliant marshalling of a notoriously complex history, Antony Beevor opens up a magisterial canvas of terror and tragedy."—Colin Thubron, author of Shadow of the Silk Road and The Amur River: Between Russia and China
"Beevor has given us what may be his most brilliant book to date—a masterpiece of historical imagination, in which the tragedy and horror of this colossal struggle is recaptured, in its impact on everyday life as well as its military dimensions, as never before. This is a great book, whose depiction of savage inhumanity speaks powerfully to our present condition.’—John Gray, author of Straw Dogs
“A completely riveting account of how the Russian Revolution, which started with such high hopes and idealism, degenerated into a tangle of civil conflicts marked by hideous cruelty on all sides. Antony Beevor brings his great gifts for narrative, and his deep interest in the people who both make history and suffer it, to illuminate that crucial period whose consequences we are still living with today.” — Margaret MacMillan, author of War: How Conflict Shaped Us and The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914
"This is an unmerciful book, agonising, yet always irresistible."—The Times (UK)
"A masterpiece of history and a harrowing lesson for today. . . Antony Beevor’s grimly magnificent new book. . . is ground-breaking in its use of original evidence from many archives."—The Daily Telegraph
"What makes the new book so readable is its structure. . . Beevor’s short chapters break up the action to ensure they are digestible while also pointing a clear path through the dark fog of this brutal war. . . This combination of clarity with vividness is Beevor’s defining strength as a historian."—The Sunday Times
"A mass of chilling contemporary testimony in a new history of the 1917-21 Russian experience . . . [Beevor] is winning plaudits around the world."—Bloomberg.com
"Beevor weaves his way through the enormous complexities of these years with intelligence, wit, and a talent for describing individuals and events. As one might expect he is in his element when describing battles, campaigns, and the down-to-earth realities of war. He conveys well the appalling savagery, casual violence and suffering brought on by the Civil War."—The Times Literary Supplement
"A wonderfully lucid writer who marshals the extensive material with great verve and understanding. . . Beevor has captured the tragedy in mesmerising detail."—The Observer
NOVEMBER 2022 - AudioFile
Rob Heaps’s precise enunciation and steady pacing result in a splendid narration of these detailed accounts of the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and the ensuing civil war that resulted in the establishment of Soviet power. Drawing on numerous firsthand accounts and other sources, Beevor’s history is one that will be enjoyed by history buffs, especially those intrigued by Russia. Heaps’s deep voice and English accent give this production an authoritative tone, and his delivery—pacing, intonation, enunciation—are all excellent. While his British pronunciation of Russian words and names may grate on purists, this is, nonetheless, an excellent work. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-07-07
The acclaimed British historian tackles the Russian civil war.
Despite current events, Russia is not the colossus that frightened other great powers during much of the 20th century. Although its revolution is no longer a scholarly obsession, Beevor, the winner of the Samuel Johnson and Wolfson prizes, among others, masterfully recounts the violent events that seemed to change everything. When Russia declared war on Germany in 1914, it fielded the identical titanic but shambling army defeated by Japan in 1905, overseen by the same autocratic but dimwitted Czar Nicholas II and a dysfunctional civil government. Sustained by grit and Allied aid, it held together for nearly three years despite catastrophic losses. However, by March 1917, increasing desertion, indiscipline, and violence against officers combined with widespread civilian suffering persuaded the still clueless czar to abdicate. Beevor’s account of what followed is both authoritative and disheartening. No one could correct Russia’s crumbling infrastructure. Hungry city dwellers blamed the new leaders, and crime and violence flourished. Their worst decision was to continue the war, which increased insubordination at the front and perhaps even more so behind the lines. Lenin arrived in April to command the small Bolshevik Party, which grew and ultimately seized power that October. Historians have long stopped portraying him as the good guy in contrast to Stalin and agree that he succeeded as all tyrants succeed: murderous ruthlessness, crushing rivals, and incessantly repeating promises that appealed to his supporters (“all power to the Soviets,” “peace to the peasants”) and then not keeping them. This is a vivid description of a revolution that featured as much mass murder as military action. Readers know the outcome, but the Red triumph was not universal. A few Baltic states won independence, and in the final and perhaps largest campaign, Polish forces routed the Red Army. Always a meticulous researcher, Beevor has done his homework in an era when everyone recorded their thoughts (even the czar kept a diary), delivering a detailed yet unedifying story through the eyes of many participants.
A definitive account.
