Posted by Steven on 8/5/2008, 8:50:58, in reply to "questions, etc."
76.187.106.26
: Are we a little behind? Or do I still not know how
: this works? It's May 7, and there's been no mention of
: the April book. I started Mist this evening.
I'm glad you brought this up, Joffre. I finished the April book several weeks ago, but after being the one to push the last discussion, I was trying to be patient. I'm going out of town this weekend, so I'll take Mist with me and try to be ready to discuss it next week.
Has anyone else read A Confederacy of Dunces? It's a lot of fun to read and won't take long if you haven't started it.
: Hey Steven, what sort of history did you read so much
: of? I've come to feel I should read some, and I'm
: beginning to feel the mood for it. I think I want to
: start with a history of Russia. Do you know a good
: one?
My most intensive reading was of the American Civil War period, but, coincidentally, I've been reading a lot of Russian history lately because my wife and I are going there next month, taking a cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
Surprisingly, there isn't a comprehensive single-volume history of Russia in print. There's a two-volume work by Riasanovsky and Steinberg, but it was much too expensive for me, and I couldn't find it in the used book stores. So the best approach is to start with a "concise" history, then do further reading on the periods or people that interest you.
I recommend Russia: A Concise History by Ronald Hingley. It's out of date (last revised in the 1980s) but still provides an excellent overview of the Tsarist era and the early Soviet period.
Do NOT read History of Russia by John T. Lawrence unless you are chiefly interested in the suppression of the Russian Orthodox Church by Soviet authorities, because the author neglects almost everything else to focus on this one topic.
Other recommended books on Russia:
Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes. The focus is on the 150-year period from the poetry of Pushkin to the films of Sergei Eisenstein. The author takes various themes (e.g. Pan-Slavism) and shows their development in literature and the arts.
A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin by Robert Service. Although somewhat over-rich in detail at times, this book really helps you understand what has happened in Russia over the last 100 years.
Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie. The history of the Tsarist era is largely told in biography, and this is the best of the lot. It's quite long (900+ pages) but fascinating from start to finish.
Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire by David Remnick. I haven't read this one yet, but it looks quite good and won a Pulitzer.
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