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A review by geve_
Ten Days that Shook the World by John Reed
4.0
This book is a treasure, but is it a fun read? not exactly.
John Reed was an american journalist present for some of the Russian revolution, and he was able to give us incredible details about the ins and outs of A LOT of different factions within the region during this time. I think this will take at least another read through to catch more than half of it, or maybe some more studying to understand exactly who was who. I can't fault the author for any of that, it;s just a lot to read at once. As a reference, this is amazing, as a narrative, it's a lot.
Also Reed is a full on socialist who makes no attempt to hide his very obvious love and excitement for the revolution and what it will mean for the rest of the world, or what he hopes it will mean. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but one should certainly understand his biases.
It's hard to read something like this and not be caught up in both the optimistic, if naive, energy of this event, as well as the utter disappointment in knowing how it will all turn out. There are so many hints of what we know will happen and I found it engrossing about half the time.
Incredible piece of journalism, and I'm glad this exists. hard to rate as I think its worth is probably far greater than even my enjoyment in reading it. Filled with near transcripts of speeches and conversations with people from all parts of the revolution, which are at times compelling and at other times, kinda boring. Honestly, read up on the revolution before attempting this. This book isn't the place to start. Don't pick this one up until you're ready.
John Reed was an american journalist present for some of the Russian revolution, and he was able to give us incredible details about the ins and outs of A LOT of different factions within the region during this time. I think this will take at least another read through to catch more than half of it, or maybe some more studying to understand exactly who was who. I can't fault the author for any of that, it;s just a lot to read at once. As a reference, this is amazing, as a narrative, it's a lot.
Also Reed is a full on socialist who makes no attempt to hide his very obvious love and excitement for the revolution and what it will mean for the rest of the world, or what he hopes it will mean. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but one should certainly understand his biases.
It's hard to read something like this and not be caught up in both the optimistic, if naive, energy of this event, as well as the utter disappointment in knowing how it will all turn out. There are so many hints of what we know will happen and I found it engrossing about half the time.
Incredible piece of journalism, and I'm glad this exists. hard to rate as I think its worth is probably far greater than even my enjoyment in reading it. Filled with near transcripts of speeches and conversations with people from all parts of the revolution, which are at times compelling and at other times, kinda boring. Honestly, read up on the revolution before attempting this. This book isn't the place to start. Don't pick this one up until you're ready.