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Susan_Morris
A mixed reaction
This book, if made into a movie, would definitely receive an "R" rating due to the extreme violence and brutality the author presents as a true picture of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The entire Petrograd Army defects to the revolutionaries and terrorizes the police force. The mob violence directed against the police was especially difficult to read in view of the violence directed toward the police in our own country.
The thorough research by the author using excerpts from letters and diaries of eyewitnesses was amazing but I had to give up on referring to the numerous footnotes constantly cited in the text. My opinion is that I found much of it a bit dry compared to Larsen's writing in Dead Wake but if you like a well researched, lengthy book about this period in Russian history check this one out.
Yvonne K. (Magnolia, TX)
Perfect Pairing to Gentleman in Moscow
Helen Rappaport paints an illuminating picture of the Russian revolution. I found the book well researched and very detailed it makes the perfect book flight companion to Amor Towels Gentleman in Moscow.
Claire_Mauro
No More Illusions
Ambitious in scope, comprehensive in the eyewitness accounts, including the horrific and gruesome loss of life, Helen Rappaport provides a detailed multilayered view on the eruption of Russian Revolution.
The scene is Petrograd, capital of Russia until 1918, teeming with foreigners, functionaries and those who serve them. It is the foreign eyewitnesses whom Rappaport coalesces her research around, and as she surely envisions her primary readership will be. We are on the streets with the embassy employees, their wives and family members, living the expat life in a grand city full of subtext and disillusion. Readers hoping for a close-up commentary from a single voice will be disappointed as Rappaport steers the handheld camera lens of her research down numerous avenues, side streets and alleys alongside 80 individual witnesses.
The tremendous wave of revolution transforms the city itself into a prime witness to the revolution. Readers will mine this work for names they recognize and discover new heroes among the unsung women working as journalists, nursing staff and revolutionary organizers – from the women warriors defending Mother Russia against German invasion to those who boldly take over the telephone exchange.
As Lenin consolidates his position, foreigners surrender their immunity to face the emergence of political forces suspicious of privilege, traditionally held power and economic superiority. James Stinton Jones, Westinghouse engineer at work on the tram system in Petrograd, observed: "The poorer classes of Russia … find themselves a political factor, they are hopelessly at sea, the prey of the last unscrupulous demagogue they have heard." Rappaport calls our attention to the eyewitness observations of the past, providing ample opportunity for contemporary comparisons to fuel lively book discussion.
Laurie W. (Fredonia, NY)
Caught in the Revolution
This is a hard book to review since I do not like reading non-fiction. The four star rating is for the exceptional research by Helen Rappaport and her attention to details in the writing. There were so many times I felt that I was in Petrograd. I could hear the gun fire, see the women in the long bread lines and enjoy the architecture of the city. The hardships the people went through amazed me. The wealthy, the poor and the foreigners all suffered extremely. Of course war is horrifying; but being invited to stand and watch at such a close distance is shocking.
A few things jumped out at me as I was reading. I was unaware of the British helping the Russians during the war. (Before the revolution) They held benefits to purchase warm clothes for the Russian soldiers.
The first women's battalion in the world was formed during the Revolution by Maria Bochkareva.
I questioned why foreign citizens and diplomats did not leave Russia earlier than they did.
I wished many times that photograph's had been included in the book.
From February to December, 2017, the city of Petrograd fell. It does not take long for a revolution to destroy the way of life for so many.
[Editor's note - the copy Laurie read was an advance reading copy - produced before the final editing process. ARCs are often missing the finishing touches such as photos and index.]
Vivian_H
The Russian Revolution Through the Eyes of Foreigners
This book is a wondrous collection of eye witness reports from foreign diplomats, reporters, nurses and other French, English and American expatriates in Petrograd as the Russian Revolution unfolded in 1917.
Helen Rapport has researched letters, diaries, news dispatches, diplomatic reports, memoirs and manuscripts to give us glimpses into memories of people from the outside caught up in events that changed the world and deposed a 300 year old dynasty.
In particular I was impressed with the viewpoints of the women - I was truly surprised by the number of independent foreign women living and working in Petrograd as journalists, nurses, and governesses such as suffragette Elsie Bowman, Canadian nurse Dorothy Cotton, Canadian reporter Florence Harper, and Lady Mureil Paget paint a fascinating picture of how outsiders recognized the coming revolution while the Tsar and imperial family buried their heads in the sand. For anyone who loves 20th Century history and the fall of the Romanovs in particular, this is a must read.
Victoria
Caught in the Revolution
The author, Helen Rappaport, has written a well researched book about the start of the Russian revolution from the viewpoint of the ex-pat community living in Petrograd.
Although a good entrée into this period of history, if I had more knowledge about it the book would have been more enjoyable. It was a fairly easy read for a historical book which was somewhat of a surprise.
This is the first book I've read by the author but it won't be the last.
Becky_Haase
The details of revolt and chaos
The lives of the diplomats, journalists, ordinary citizens and foreign expats who lived through 1917 in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), Russia as it fell from Tsarist rule to peasant's revolt to anarchy to Leninism is told in exacting detail by Rappaport. Her clear and compelling writing makes this journey into disaster and terror real and immediate. She is able to carry the reader into the unease that slowly begins to develop into the "practically bloodless" and often times polite early revolution and that then descends into chaos and horror as beatings, death, starvation and cold blooded murder escalate.
As well written as it is researched, the book is surprisingly easy to read. The many (nearly 100) pages of notes will fascinate those of a more scholarly bent. I just enjoyed the clear writing and minute by minute detail. This isn't a book for everyone, but anyone with an interest in Russia or revolution or world history will appreciate this book.
Suzanne G. (Tucson, AZ)
Revolution Action
This would be the go-to nonfiction book for anyone wanting to learn the observations of foreigners living in Petrograd, Russia during the 1917 Revolution. The extensive research is vividly viewed with a timeline representing the progress of the experiences of these personalities.
Before attempting to read such a publication, it would help to have prior understanding of the history of the players and circumstances in such an uprising. I feel I might have grasped more had I spent time familiarizing myself with that. The book flowed and was interestingly written.
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