Present Books In Pursuance Of Ten Days that Shook the World
| Original Title: | Ten Days that Shook the World |
| ISBN: | 0486452409 (ISBN13: 9780486452401) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin |
| Setting: | St. Petersburg, Russia,1917 Russian Empire,1917 |
John Reed
Paperback | Pages: 400 pages Rating: 3.93 | 4643 Users | 327 Reviews
Particularize Based On Books Ten Days that Shook the World
| Title | : | Ten Days that Shook the World |
| Author | : | John Reed |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Value edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 400 pages |
| Published | : | September 8th 2006 by Dover Publications (first published 1919) |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. Politics. Cultural. Russia. Writing. Journalism. Russian History |
Ilustration Conducive To Books Ten Days that Shook the World
I just finished this one, after meaning to check it out since college.Sometimes you know a book is great even if you yourself have a hard time reading it. That was the case for me in the very well written and detailed personal account of the October Revolution in Russia, as experienced by American reporter and Communist sympathizer, Jack Reed.
The excellent movie Reds is based in large part on the accounts in this book. (Warren Beauty producing, directing, writing, and starring as the author, Reed.) I love that film, and assumed I would love the book. I certainly admire the book, and can see why a movie was made of it; Reed's descriptions of moods, sights, sounds and smells, his overall description of environment is immpeccable. The reader feels as if they are right there with Reed as he surveys the war front, walks dark streets, and experiences the unspecified yet palpable unrest that was so pervasive in all parts of Russia during that historical time. I loved these parts of the book.
But the book is just as much, if not more, Reed's account of the literally scores of factions, political parties, armies, navies, congresses, and commititees. Man alive, were there committees in revolutionary Russia! Hundreds! Everywhere! Even in the Army. There was even a Commitee of Commitees, and a Union of Unions.
So horribly complex were the struggles of these inummerable political/governmental groups that one could very easily get lost trying to remember who was who, and who was against what, etc. There is a brief description at the front of the book for each of the parties, but flipping back and forth grew tedious, so I gave up. A reference card as one reads is required for most people not well versed already in Russian history of the early 20th century. While I am sure Reed breaks it down better than most, the chunks are still hard for a novice to swallow sometimes.
He is also a victim of his meticulous collecting, whole pages sometimes being dedicated to verbatim accounts of speeches and articles and pamphlets set out all over Russia. Makes one's head spin.
Yet even then, I admired the passion with which he wrote those part of the accounts. Not exactly as moving or intriguing as the mood pieces spread throughout the pages, Reed certainly leaves no stone unturned. Unfortunatley, one has to be a geologist to keep some of them straight.
I will, in all liklihood, read the book again one day, when more of it has time to process. For though Reed himself confessed that he failed to be 100% objective, his first hand account of one of the most important social shifts in world history is invaluable to historians. And his prose, (and even some poetry) is a very rich feast for any wordsmith, such as myself.
A book to be admired and remembered, even when confusing. Not for everyone, and sometimes, not for me. But when it did hit with me, I was quite glad to have finally, after about eight years, picked it up and read it.
Rating Based On Books Ten Days that Shook the World
Ratings: 3.93 From 4643 Users | 327 ReviewsDiscuss Based On Books Ten Days that Shook the World
Reed reportedly wrote this in ten straight days, and it shows: it's very much a stream of consciousness, liberally stuffed with unwieldy verbatim quotations from pamphlets and speeches of the era, and festooned with ellipses to the point of there being four or five "..."s on many pages.It's an interesting read as a personal (and unreservedly biased) account of the Bolshevik rise to power, but if you want a more readable, more coherent and more structured account, I'd recommend "Six Red Months inTen Days that Shook the World is a compendium of eye-witness reporting and translated (except for some illustrations) source materials from this pivotal point in the Russian Revolution. The book was penned by John Reed, a socialist journalist from the United States, who was the subject of the Warren Beatty movie, Reds. One must confess that this book wasnt exactly what it appeared to be from the cover illustration. Said cover illustration on my aging copy had two revolutionaries with rifles in
The classic account of the October Bolshevik revolution that was supported mainly by the urban working classes and the large mass of sympathetic sailors and soldiers who were fed up with war and wanted peace. Even though a politically one sided work, John Reed wrote with enthusiasm and passion showing the events that took place mainly in Petrograd during the fateful days.
Passes as an important historical account. But all too often falls to sensationalism (makes up some stuff to make events more dramatic) and hagiography (thinks that Lenin and Trotsky are Gods in human flesh). I liked the Soviet-illustrated comics "Introducing the Russian Revolution" or Rius' "Lenin for Beginners" better. Great appendix though.
Lenin himself gave this book a good review and I think that says enough. Very informative and beautiful.
I gave this a go after the Arabist noted that no one had yet to write the 'Ten Days that Shook the World' of the Arab Spring: http://www.arabist.net/blog/2012/8/28... I'm not sorry I read the book, byzantine, unfocused, and sentimental though it was.Reed was clearly immersed in the history of all the players as the October Revolution came to a head- he jumps in midstream and gleefully recounts the intrigues of Bolsheviki, Mensheviki, Mensheviki Internationalists, Cadets, Left Socialist
From BBC Radio 4 - 15 Minute Drama:John Reed's classic eye-witness account of the Russian Revolution in October 1917. Dramatised by Robin BrooksEpisode 1: The Coming Storm Autumn 1917 and Petrograd under the Provisional Government is in chaos. American journalists John Reed and Louise Bryant arrive to find the tension between factions is palpable and it's only a matter of time before the situation explodes. But in which direction?Episode 2: On the EveThe confusion in Petrograd continues as the
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