kararkoehn's review against another edition
4.0
Good book! Very informative. Of course I’m not going to remember most of it, but it was interesting to listen to none the less.
The author did a very good job of keeping it interesting.
The author did a very good job of keeping it interesting.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This book covers the events in Petrograd, Russia, (the former St. Petersburg), in 1917. The February Revolution began when riots and strikes hit the city over the scarcity of food items. (I found it very interesting to note that this actually began in March, but Russia used the Julian calendar, so the dates are different from other sources.) Thousands of people took to the streets, destroying police stations and other buildings. Russian troops shot a lot of protesters- estimates are over 1,000. The result of this February Revolution was the deposition of Czar Nicolas II, who would later be murdered with his wife and children. In the meantime, a Provisional Government was formed to try to formulate a standard of living and proper laws that the people would be satisfied with. (Which went the way of the wind during the October Revolution.)
I really like Helen Rappaport's work. I have several of her books, and every one that I have read has been amazing. She is very detailed in her research and her writing. She puts the facts out in a way that is educational and entertaining. I always learn so much from her books. If you haven't read any of her work, you should. You are missing out.
I really like Helen Rappaport's work. I have several of her books, and every one that I have read has been amazing. She is very detailed in her research and her writing. She puts the facts out in a way that is educational and entertaining. I always learn so much from her books. If you haven't read any of her work, you should. You are missing out.
leighannsherwin's review
5.0
All I can say about this book is wow. A vivid account of the Russian Revolution told through the eyes of various foreigners in the capital city of Petrograd, AKA St. Petersburg. Told in three parts, the largest being the February revolution, then the July days and finally the October revolution the book takes place entirely in 1917. The stories put the reader front and centre on the streets of Petrograd. You feel the fear, the cold, the hunger, the sense of hope that came after the first revolution and then the sadness and despair that slowly descended over the city as the Bolsheviks took over. I found myself becoming attached to the various characters, from reporter Florence Harper and her photographer Donald Thompson who became favourites of mine, I was sad to see them leave after the July days and even more disappointed that Ms Harper seemingly vanished to history after the war. Then there were the diplomats George Buchanan of England who despite gun battles and dangers insisted on going for morning strolls and was often greeted with cheers as he walked, people halt g gun fights to let him pass. And let's not forget American ambassador Francis and his servant Phillip Jordan who you couldn't help but love. Jordon affectionately known as Phil was an African American, and loved the adventure and excitement surrounding the city and his and the ambassadors letters home are a source of both information and some amusement. By the time the October revolution arrives while my favourite duo Harper and Thompson had left a new duo, the famous John Reed and his wife Louise Bryant arrived. I didn't much care for them and even though they became the most famous and celebrated journalists of the revolution mostly because they took the side of Lenin and his ilk. Of all the revolution books I've read this is the first real look at the actual populace of Russia. Usually I've only read books about the royals but this time I felt like I had a front row to what really happened in Russia in 1917. From a celebration on International Women's Day that turned bloody to a Soviet takeover that would change Russia and the world forever, this book should be read by anyone with an interest in the 1917 Russian Revolutions.
whatsnonfiction's review
4.0
Helen Rappaport, author of 2014’s popular history The Romanov Sisters, among other titles on history and royals both Russian and otherwise, explains in her acknowledgments for Caught in the Revolution that while working as a historian she was struck by “…how much seemed to have been written about the revolution by Russians, but how relatively little I had come across that was said by those many non-Russians who, for various reasons, were stranded in the city that year. I knew there had to be more to the story than just the over-hyped account of the one man, John Reed, who had always seemed to dominate, with his Ten Days that Shook the World.”
In order to give a platform to other accounts, she’s written a compelling, engaging history of the 1917 Russian Revolution from the point of view of these outsider perspectives, letting those who lived through the events contribute their own words and writings to enliven what’s already known from history’s narrative. This period of time requires a good deal of context to thoroughly understand it, and sometimes with so much political background, the reading can be somewhat dry or plodding. That’s not the case here, as Rappaport changes up the topics and perspectives frequently, although several of the same figures reappear across chapters. They tell the stories in their own words, imbuing opinions and feeling into Rappaport’s weaving of the historical context around the events. This is what any student wishes a boring history text would be – life breathed into the words of the past.
A significant number of the eyewitnesses are diplomats stationed in so-called Petrograd, then the capital city of Tsarist Russia, from countries including United States, Great Britain, and France. Their understanding of the culture and climate of pre-Revolutionary Russia coupled with diplomatic perspective from their own lands makes for enlightening reading. Other eyewitnesses include authors, journalists, and foreign revolutionaries and activists drawn to this epicenter of action, like the aging Emmeline Pankhurst and her assistant Jessie Kenney, who were in Petrograd attempting to work with Kerensky and other Provisional Government leaders on the country’s involvement in the ongoing war.
Some background and understanding of Russian Revolutionary history is certainly helpful in enjoying the book but not necessary. Rappaport fills in most of the details, mainly those relating to its underlying issue of Tsar Nicholas II being considered weak and ineffective as a ruler. His inaction and inadequate response to the people’s needs created an opening that charismatic revolutionaries like Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky were all too eager to fill. As Grand Duchess Vladimir tells French diplomat Maurice Paleologue regarding Nicholas, it was a now-or-never moment and as we know, he didn’t make a move in time: “If salvation does not come from above, there will be revolution from below.”
The trouble with sudden revolution was what the people were actually supposed to do with this new relative freedom, once they actually threw off the oppressive Tsarist yoke. They were faced with the dangerous combination of being both victorious and directionless. As James Stinton Jones, a South African engineer working on the electrification of the Petrograd tramways describes it, “There is no cohesion, no common ideal to inspire her people. She is conscious of having killed a dragon; that is all.” This often results in outbursts of unimaginable, senseless violence, shocking to foreigners trying to navigate day by day in the uncertain, constantly changing atmosphere of the capital. The book’s greatest strength is this picture of daily life in the midst of unease, revolution, and the aftermath; violence and all.
Throughout the narrative is a sense of the shift and development of the national identity, as it begins to emerge under the provisional government. There are hints at how this historical uncertainty became a legacy, contributing to Russia’s still-shaky identity even today. “There are two things that people only appreciate when they have lost them, and these are their health and their country.” Those are the words of the ailing Georgiy Plekhanov, a former colleague of Lenin’s returned to Tsarskoe Selo after decades in Swiss exile, spoken to Pankhurst and Kenney. They have an echoing impact among these powerful vignettes.
If you read only one of the many books coming out in time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 2017, let it be this one.
I received an advance copy courtesy of the publisher for review.
In order to give a platform to other accounts, she’s written a compelling, engaging history of the 1917 Russian Revolution from the point of view of these outsider perspectives, letting those who lived through the events contribute their own words and writings to enliven what’s already known from history’s narrative. This period of time requires a good deal of context to thoroughly understand it, and sometimes with so much political background, the reading can be somewhat dry or plodding. That’s not the case here, as Rappaport changes up the topics and perspectives frequently, although several of the same figures reappear across chapters. They tell the stories in their own words, imbuing opinions and feeling into Rappaport’s weaving of the historical context around the events. This is what any student wishes a boring history text would be – life breathed into the words of the past.
A significant number of the eyewitnesses are diplomats stationed in so-called Petrograd, then the capital city of Tsarist Russia, from countries including United States, Great Britain, and France. Their understanding of the culture and climate of pre-Revolutionary Russia coupled with diplomatic perspective from their own lands makes for enlightening reading. Other eyewitnesses include authors, journalists, and foreign revolutionaries and activists drawn to this epicenter of action, like the aging Emmeline Pankhurst and her assistant Jessie Kenney, who were in Petrograd attempting to work with Kerensky and other Provisional Government leaders on the country’s involvement in the ongoing war.
Some background and understanding of Russian Revolutionary history is certainly helpful in enjoying the book but not necessary. Rappaport fills in most of the details, mainly those relating to its underlying issue of Tsar Nicholas II being considered weak and ineffective as a ruler. His inaction and inadequate response to the people’s needs created an opening that charismatic revolutionaries like Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky were all too eager to fill. As Grand Duchess Vladimir tells French diplomat Maurice Paleologue regarding Nicholas, it was a now-or-never moment and as we know, he didn’t make a move in time: “If salvation does not come from above, there will be revolution from below.”
The trouble with sudden revolution was what the people were actually supposed to do with this new relative freedom, once they actually threw off the oppressive Tsarist yoke. They were faced with the dangerous combination of being both victorious and directionless. As James Stinton Jones, a South African engineer working on the electrification of the Petrograd tramways describes it, “There is no cohesion, no common ideal to inspire her people. She is conscious of having killed a dragon; that is all.” This often results in outbursts of unimaginable, senseless violence, shocking to foreigners trying to navigate day by day in the uncertain, constantly changing atmosphere of the capital. The book’s greatest strength is this picture of daily life in the midst of unease, revolution, and the aftermath; violence and all.
Throughout the narrative is a sense of the shift and development of the national identity, as it begins to emerge under the provisional government. There are hints at how this historical uncertainty became a legacy, contributing to Russia’s still-shaky identity even today. “There are two things that people only appreciate when they have lost them, and these are their health and their country.” Those are the words of the ailing Georgiy Plekhanov, a former colleague of Lenin’s returned to Tsarskoe Selo after decades in Swiss exile, spoken to Pankhurst and Kenney. They have an echoing impact among these powerful vignettes.
If you read only one of the many books coming out in time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 2017, let it be this one.
I received an advance copy courtesy of the publisher for review.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
In 1917, 100 years ago this year, revolution broke out across Russia. In "Caught in the Revolution," Helen Rappaport looks at the effects of the revolution on one city: Petrograd (a.k.a. St. Petersburg). It was amazing to see how quickly things changed as well as to have a reminder of the course of events that took Russia from the fall of the Tsar to the new government.
Sure, there are a lot of history books that cover Russia during this time period. What makes this book really a great history is the first hand narratives that Rappaport draws from to write the book. By drawing on letters, diaries, and a variety of other narratives, Rappaport is able to not only pinpoint exactly where people were when they witnessed this shift in history but what they were witnessing and what they were feeling. It really made the history feel more personal while still being incredibly informative. You get such a good sense of place and can really picture what is happening throughout the book.
I love history books even if it just a run down of events but having the first hand narratives make the history so much more real. This book would be great for those that don't have a familiarity with the history of this revolution as well as those that already have a familiarity with the Russian Revolution but are looking for a different and more intimate look at the events that changed the world.
Sure, there are a lot of history books that cover Russia during this time period. What makes this book really a great history is the first hand narratives that Rappaport draws from to write the book. By drawing on letters, diaries, and a variety of other narratives, Rappaport is able to not only pinpoint exactly where people were when they witnessed this shift in history but what they were witnessing and what they were feeling. It really made the history feel more personal while still being incredibly informative. You get such a good sense of place and can really picture what is happening throughout the book.
I love history books even if it just a run down of events but having the first hand narratives make the history so much more real. This book would be great for those that don't have a familiarity with the history of this revolution as well as those that already have a familiarity with the Russian Revolution but are looking for a different and more intimate look at the events that changed the world.
christie's review
4.0
This book offers a number of interesting perspectives on happenings in Russia throughout much of 1917 through the eyes of those who weren't from that neck of the woods. It's very detailed and while moving back and forth among different folks, it doesn't get to the point where there's just too much going on to follow. It also introduces a number if interesting characters, both Russian and from elsewhere.